Newly diagnosed social phobia

[Raj]

My Psychiatrist says I have had life long severe Social Phobia. I like to self diagnose a lot and I was thought I was a little autistic, he says no. He said this may or my not be related to my head injury but is "enhanced by my abuse"! I have had extreme fear of crowds since early child hood and now it is so bad I don't even go into a situation with more than one or two people involved and only if I know them! My Neurologist and my Psych are playing musical med's to work on this and my Major depression.

I feel really useless to my wife and kids (except at home) safe and Mr. fix it there.

Thanks for letting me share!

 

[open eyes]

Careful with reading about mental illnesses on the internet & self diagnosing. It's easy to get it stuck in your head that you have a disorder & then you start acting out new symptoms that you don't really have. I'm glad that you received correct diagnosis though. Meds can be tricky, so remember to be patient.

 

[cherryblossom]

If you have PTSD, perhaps your social anxiety is due to that, rather than a separate diagnosis on it's own. Either way it doesn't really matter, what matters is how it can be improved.

I seriously doubt that medication alone will be a great deal of help. You mention a psychiatrist, and a neurologist - do you have a trauma therapist to help you to process the abuse- perhaps CBT? Or exposure therapy?

 

[Notsowild]

I'm sure I could be diagnosed with extreme social phobia or extreme shyness. I have PTSD with extreme anxiety. I have always been shy. I remember hiding in closets when I was young and that was before ( I think) the abuse started. I have a fear of crowds. I try to shop when the stores are less busy. Medication is hard. I'm on Ativan which of course is extremely addictive but it helps for now. So just wanted to say I understand . Welcome to the forum.

 

[Lionheart]

I too have life-long social phobia as well as PTSD and Major Depression., so you are definitely not alone....don't know if that helps much but thought you'd like to know just the same.

I struggle with social phobia sometimes. Since first being diagnosed, I have allowed myself to be in social situations with more than 2 people and even though the symptoms are really uncomfortable, I can go out in a crowds of people now without anxiety attacking me and ruining my fun.

I am most comfortable in small groups of people and prefer one-on-one social interaction. I realize that this might not change, but I am okay with it and have made adjustments to my lifestyle to allow for some discomfort from time to time. I hope you are able to adjust and make some good progress.

Peace,
Lionheart777

 

[Raj]

I just started Ativan today. When I was a child I would hide in my room and in closets if people were coming to visit and then after abuse started I would hide from girls and women as my sister, mother and grandmother were my first three abusers.

My groups are always better one or two only! Tried local trauma counseling and they left abruptly ,tried again and next counselor was in the courthouse (small rural town) and kept letting people interrupt our session the entire hour. Wish medicare/medicaid paid for online Skype type!