...I've never tried any kind of support group. Since I have severe social anxiety as well as other conditions, it makes it really hard for me to talk about things like that. Or anything, when it involves other people. Do other people deal with this too? And how do they do that? What's okay to share, and what's not okay to share? Does sharing really help?
Any help is appreciated, I really don't know what I'm doing here, and it's very scary for me.
Hello Spark2116, welcome to the group! I also have social anxiety along with other psychiatric conditions. I joined around 3 months ago. I was afraid, didn't know what to post, and thought I would just embarrass myself. But I have found many supportive and caring people who are good listeners and eager to provide help. I have found sharing to be very helpful, if for no other reason, for me to get it out. As for what you should share, share anything you are comfortable with. When you share, you can choose whether you share for anybody to see, or you can choose this community only. For my own privacy, I usually choose community only. To make your selection, look towards the bottom of the page you type your posts on. It is so good to see you here! I look forward to hearing from you. Peace.
Sharing helps and this group understands and has many great suggestions. Welcome.
"What's okay to share, and what's not okay to share? "
Welcome.
Basically try to treat others the way that you would want (or hope) to be treated.
Yes it's a scary place.... I've heard through the grapevine that there's a ghost here who haunts all the newcomers for a week. BEWARE !!!
Hello Spark, it takes a lot of courage initially to post here so good for you for taking that first step I hope you find this group helpful for you. Being in a group is really helpful to realize how similar your problems are to others and that you are not alone in your struggles. There are online support group/counseling sessions available and probably ones specifically for social anxiety that you could benefit from. Here is my answer to another similar question:
Sounds like what you are dealing with is social anxiety disorder which can be related to low-self-worth and low-self-esteem. For whatever reason you learned and believed things about yourself at a young age that aren't true and distort your perceptions and beliefs about yourself, others and how they perceive you. You would benefit from finding a therapist that specifically treats social anxiety disorder. If you can't find a therapist, there are online programs available and lots of info/resources on youtube. There is also a lot of info on youtube about healing your low-self-worth and self-esteem. I really like the writings of Dr. Bernadette Sewell and her Break Free program. There wasn't a SA specific therapist near me so I did the online program from the socialanxietyinstitute.org.
My SA developed from growing up in a emotionally repressed abusive household with lots of shaming and then was bullied in school. I grew up with high-functioning anxiety disorder then later realized I had social anxiety. I believed no one liked me and I had to hide my true self. I was dumb-founded to realize that people actually liked me and really even enjoyed my company and it started me on my recovery/healing journey.
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