Red_Devil
New member
Greetings from a new guy,
Until yesterday, I had never heard of Social Phobia. I was in Brisbane on business & picked up a magazine while waiting in a clients reception area. In this magazine was an article on Social Phobia & as I was reading it, I thought, “this has been written about me”! I also cast my mind back to the previous evening when, I sat in my hotel room really wanting to go to the gym, but not managing to pluck up the courage, in case people looked & laughed at me! (I usually go to the gym at home, but rarely on my own & of course, I know my own gym, so I am more comfortable)
When I got home last night, I got straight on the net & started to research this new phenomenon I had discovered & the more I read, the more I thought I had seen so much of this before in myself.
FYI, I am a 46 year old male & fairly successful in my business life & am well liked personally, but in certain social situations, I struggle. I travel a lot on business both locally & internationally & in doing so, I get the opportunity to meet lots of interesting people. But yet I can sit on a plane for 12 hours & not make conversation with the person sitting next to me. Every time, I say I’m going to do it, but I don’t & then I beat myself up afterwards for not doing it. I hate parties & social situations where I don’t know many people. I always think, who am I going to talk to. I have a function to go to this weekend with 80 people & I will know 3 of them. I have been dreading it since I found out about it. I will make myself go, but I am not looking forward to it. I have to confess that a drink or two helps, but I know that’s not the answer.
I read a post on this forum before talking about “why are you so quiet tonight” I HATE THAT – if I had a dollar for every time I had heard that, I’d be a rich man!
I could go on, but I guess you have heard it all before. If I felt I could start a conversation comfortably, I’d feel a lot better. If I could walk into a crowded room alone without the feeling of being watched & judged, I’d feel a lot better.
I must be very good at hiding the way I feel, because if I ever say to anyone that I am shy, no one believes me. I might come across as a confident person, but no one knows how I feel inside in those situations I’ve mentioned.
I always blamed my upbringing for my “shyness”. I was always told that “little children should be seen & not heard” & was always made to believe that my comments & opinions were not important enough to be heard in “adult conversation”. Try as I might to leave these limiting beliefs behind me, I find it very hard.
Hope I haven’t bored you & if you did get to the end of this, I would appreciate any comments.
Until yesterday, I had never heard of Social Phobia. I was in Brisbane on business & picked up a magazine while waiting in a clients reception area. In this magazine was an article on Social Phobia & as I was reading it, I thought, “this has been written about me”! I also cast my mind back to the previous evening when, I sat in my hotel room really wanting to go to the gym, but not managing to pluck up the courage, in case people looked & laughed at me! (I usually go to the gym at home, but rarely on my own & of course, I know my own gym, so I am more comfortable)
When I got home last night, I got straight on the net & started to research this new phenomenon I had discovered & the more I read, the more I thought I had seen so much of this before in myself.
FYI, I am a 46 year old male & fairly successful in my business life & am well liked personally, but in certain social situations, I struggle. I travel a lot on business both locally & internationally & in doing so, I get the opportunity to meet lots of interesting people. But yet I can sit on a plane for 12 hours & not make conversation with the person sitting next to me. Every time, I say I’m going to do it, but I don’t & then I beat myself up afterwards for not doing it. I hate parties & social situations where I don’t know many people. I always think, who am I going to talk to. I have a function to go to this weekend with 80 people & I will know 3 of them. I have been dreading it since I found out about it. I will make myself go, but I am not looking forward to it. I have to confess that a drink or two helps, but I know that’s not the answer.
I read a post on this forum before talking about “why are you so quiet tonight” I HATE THAT – if I had a dollar for every time I had heard that, I’d be a rich man!
I could go on, but I guess you have heard it all before. If I felt I could start a conversation comfortably, I’d feel a lot better. If I could walk into a crowded room alone without the feeling of being watched & judged, I’d feel a lot better.
I must be very good at hiding the way I feel, because if I ever say to anyone that I am shy, no one believes me. I might come across as a confident person, but no one knows how I feel inside in those situations I’ve mentioned.
I always blamed my upbringing for my “shyness”. I was always told that “little children should be seen & not heard” & was always made to believe that my comments & opinions were not important enough to be heard in “adult conversation”. Try as I might to leave these limiting beliefs behind me, I find it very hard.
Hope I haven’t bored you & if you did get to the end of this, I would appreciate any comments.
