Anxiety and shyness

[jev1964]

What can I do to overcome anxiety and shyness?

[Hidden]

Hello...

Chatting on here might help you to get used to talking to people.

Do you talk to anyone at all away from the Internet?

[jev1964 in reply to Hidden]

Hi there, I work so I do talk to my colleagues but only if I have to, its so difficult

[Worried-help]

Anxiety is not so easy to get over. But you can find ways to control it and live with it. As far as shyness. Maybe try to communicate more with people at work/school maybe join some groups for extra curricular activities. The shyness eventually goes away once you start socializing more little by little. I used to be shy when I was younger and I still have a little bit of it left over, it's just the was we are, I'd learn to live with it.

[jev1964 in reply to Worried-help]

How can I control it? As for the shyness I try to talk more and get involved with social events but everyone seems so confident so I start to feel inadequate and awkward and insignificant which eventually leads to me withdrawing from social gatherings and situations

[Worried-help in reply to jev1964]

You have to accept it. The anxiety. Thats how you don't give it power. Accept that your symptoms are anxiety and try your best to ignore them. Continue to attend the social gatherings break out of your shell little by little. Baby steps. Don't feel insignificant to anyone or compare yourself. You are special in your own way. Not everyone is the same. Everyone has their own unique way of being and their own personality. Your shyness does not make the other person better than you. It's what you have inside that matters. It really is. You are shy but you are probably such a beautiful person. Don't let anyone dim your light. Try little by little to be more sociable and you will see with time how you won't even think about it anymore.

[Hidden in reply to Worried-help]

I used to have anxiety and now I don't.

You should try to aim a bit higher instead of living with it.

Work on removing it completely.

[designguy]

Based on your comment about shyness and anxiety, my guess is that you have social anxiety disorder. Here is my answer to another member on how to get help: The fastest way for you to recover is to find a therapist or center to work with who specializes in treating social anxiety disorder and preferably one with group therapy. Don't waste your time working with a general therapist. If you can't find one near you there are some online programs like the socialanxietyinstitute.org and overcomingsocialanxiety.com you can use.

[jev1964 in reply to designguy]

Thanks I didn't think groups like this existed, I'll try to summon up the courage to make contact with one of them

[DemonEyes]

I would say take your time. Never pressure yourself to jump in at the deep end - go at your own pace. There are lots of different options. If you're diagnosed by a doctor, there is medication for the anxiety. There's always therapy to learn how to work through the problem. If you wanted to try a gradual increase, that might help, for example; try something that only makes you very slightly anxious. Once you have some good experiences with things that would usually make you anxious, it might build your confidence to slowly try more and more until you're no longer anxious. It's a very slow process, but you can do anything you put your mind to!

[jev1964 in reply to DemonEyes]

Thanks for the advice and tips, I'm sure something will work, the problem is finding that something to get the ball rolling

[DemonEyes in reply to jev1964]

Keep trying and you'll get there eventually! You can do it