AberGirl

Hi, I'm not Australian but I was browsing through here and wanted to tell you I totally identify with you. My phobia is slowly getting better (thank god) and was always more about the eating part of things and "trying not to spew" - like you! I couldn't go anywhere with people around cos I was so scared I'd throw up. Restaurants are still my worst nightmare and I hate not having an escape route like a door leading outside or nearby toilets. I also get anxiety attacks where I feel like I can't go on and just want to escape my thoughts and feelings, has anyone else had that?

Like you, my mum didn't, and still doesn't, understand. She thinks I need to ignore it and it'll go away but I found that finding stuff out about the condition helped me realise other people felt this way and it wasn't just me, so I felt less like a freak reading about other people experiencing my symptoms.

Good luck to you, and feel free to contact me anytime if you want a chat :-) xx

silverwolf

it's true no one understands ignorant people who have always enjoyed themselves and had everything fall into their lap really annoy me. Forget these idiots you have to help yourself bcos you are the only one that can help yourself and you can do it. Anyway good to hear your getting better bcos I've never felt pain like this before in my life.

sophieshy

hey i'm sophie im 15 &
i think i have social phobia :(
and it's kinda ruining my life, i go to school and i dread lessons because of the fear of the teacher asking me to read aloud or answer a simple question.
i had a stammer when i was six, its not as bad now but when im nervous i cant get my words out. i've had a few bad experiences in school already, my old english teacher would go round the class asking everyone to read out aloud, when it got to my go, i completly freaked out and froze, i tried to read it but i just stammerd. and it diddnt help with everyone staring at me .
sometimes i can read without a problem, but i get so nervous i start sweating and go red. my friends dont understand either there like 'what was wrong with you in english?'
it's not only reading aloud i hate, i hate it when the teacher has to take a register of our names, but instead of passing a piece of paper round the class, she would go round the class asking for our names, i just freeze and i can say my first name without a problem but i freeze for like 30 seconds untill i get out my surname. everyone stares at me like im a freak.

ordering food at a reastaraunt is hell for me, i normally tell my mum what i want so i dont have to orally say it to the waitress.
i'm having a big problem at the moment with making phone calls, answering phones, i cant get any words out. or if my nan rings and asks for my mum, i cant ansewr simple questions she would ask me.
even if its my auntie ringing the house phone i pray that she dosent want to speak to me.
i dont think my family know, my mum knows a have a stammer, and dont like talking on the phone, but how do i tell her about this whole social phobia?

i'm worrying about how im gonna get a job (the job interview!!!), how im gonna get my own house without making a phone call? i cant avoid making a phone call all my life and dread school because of reading aloud

has anyone got the same problems as me?
thanks
sophie x

Anrox

Your not alone with that problem. Its very hard when you cant do even the most basic tasks. The most frustrating things is when you cant even talk to your family members. :( I wish I know what to do. :(

dwn10w

its hard to let people know dat we r shy or that we have a socia phob because they cannot understand it. they cannot hear how fast our heart beats, how nervous we get, when d blush sets in or when theres this big lump in your throat. d truth is, people could care less if we r shy or socia phob. all they care about is how comfortable they r with u. if u maintain yourself as an approachable person, then they will feel compy, but if u act all nervous and anxious, then u end up making them uncomfortable. so d dilema here is, how can u make yourself feel more comfortable around other people. the answer is, it takes alot of practise. go out and talk to sales assistants, not d snobbish looking ones though

dr_nick

sweety if u wanna talk please contact me at drnick2000@supernerd.com.au.we share the same problem

nick

HolziWolziWoo

Omg, I actually cried when I read this because I never knew someone felt the same as I did. Im only 15 but everything in my life is so scary and the smallest things are such a big deal. No-one understands, and I'm too embarrased to talk about it properly. My mum had anxiety problems when she was younger but this is not just anxiety because it affects my life so much. I miss out on opportunities because of it. I have got work experience next week and im so scared. Im working at a nursery and I have to read stories to them and im scared of doing it. They are 3 years old! HATE this so much. Im too scared to go to a councilor. I'm so dependent on others and worried about my future. Need help

Fear of people

Yes" I for one "totally understand what you are going through as well. I also suffer from this dreaded form of anxiety... and I know how hard it can be just to walk outside of your house to collect the mail from your letterbox or take the garbage bin out to the front of your yard... in the fear of your neighbours seeing you and being so terrified that your neighbour may walk over to you and start a conversation with you... because you fear as though you are going to make a fool of yourself in what you are going to say to your neighbour.

I have a intense fear of my neighbours as well... and I try to avoid them at all costs. For me even hanging the clothes out on the line in my own back yard is a stressful experience for me... as I think to myself that the neighbours who live at the back of my house are staring through the window at me or looking over the fence...but to me it feels real enough even though they are not.

I even go to extreme measures before I collect the mail out of the letterbox or bring down the garbage bin...I will make sure that I get changed into something nice before I carry out these tasks...just so the neighbours will not think that I dress up like a dag.

I do not enjoy going shopping either...because everytime that I do...to me it feels as though everybody is staring at me and judging me at the same time due to my appearance.

This phobia does ruin your life in the end because you end up becoming house bound and it stops you from enjoying life to the fullest and getting ahead in life as well... and eventually you end up with no friends to speak of because of this life ruining phobia of mine.

You are right...most people do not understand what we are going through because they themselves do not suffer from this disorder and they take life for granted...but people who suffer from social phobia like us... do not have that luxury what so ever.

written by Fear of People

no1

haha. no one understands, yea that sounds like me. and I don't understand.

IT SEEMS.

*shrinks image down to nothingness*

OverIt

I'm so glad I found this site... I knew there were people out there in the same situation but reading specific details like "I'm afraid of going to the hairdressers" really helped - because that's one of the things I'm afraid of... it's so stupid! I'm 18 atm and I've basically drifted from my closest friends because I'm too afraid to go out. It's only getting worse, although I do have good days. Like the time I spent an entire day at a busy shopping center, haha. I felt as though everyone was watching me the entire day though.

I'm always imaging what my life would be like if I wasn't so anxious - it'd be OK I reckon. It's just hard making it a reality.

The annoying thing is that the people I'm comfortable with would never guess I had anxiety issues - but whenever I'm in an unfamiliar situation I get really awkward. Like now for example, my sister has a friend over, I haven't left my room since they got here. It's so f**cking stupid! I don't want to live like this. People that I'm comfortable with find me funny, friendly etc but I have trouble displaying that to people I've just met or haven't interacted with before. I'm starting uni next year so I'm hoping to get over this soon. I'm already freaking out because someone I know had to stand up and do the whole "introduce yourself to the class" thing.

Anyway, I'll shut up now. It felt good to get that off my chest though. I've never spoken to anyone about it online or real life.