Living with social anxiety and body dysmorphic disorder

[Teeko]

Hi everyone. I am new here, so I thought I would tell my story as an introduction. I am in my early 30's and I have been living with severe social anxiety for around fifteen years. It is hard for me to do simple things such as go into stores to buy things, as interacting with strangers gives me a lot of anxiety. I also hate myself intensely, and I think I have body dysmorphic disorder. It all became a bit too much to handle, and I dropped out of high school and ultimately gave up on everything. I have no qualifications and have only have a small amount of work experience. Because of this, I believe that nobody will hire me, and it causes me to lose even more motivation to turn my life around. I should of sought help a decade ago, but it was just easier for me to hide away from the world. Now I am paying the price for taking the easy way out. 

[White_Rose]

Dear Teeko

Hello. welcome to Beyond Blue. Thank you for telling us your story and well done. You say you are paying the price for inertia and procrastination, but you have just taken the first step towards wellness. BB is here to support you in your endeavours and to offer our own insights based on our experiences. You may find it helpful to explore the forum more thoroughly and read the posts of other people. First stop the Anxiety section.

I also recommend exploring the information about anxiety which you can access on BB. Start at the home page and read about anxiety. I firmly believe you are better off when you are informed about your illness.

The next step is to pay a visit to your GP. It's never too late to start asking for and receiving treatment for your illness. There are various options available for you which your doctor can discuss. One suggestion is to write down your anxiety history, how it feels and the effect it has on your life. Little of this will be new to your GP but will give him/her a clear picture of you and your needs.

Great to have you here. Please let us know how you are traveling.

Mary

[Guest_1055]

Hey Teeko

I can relate to the fear or anxiety of verbally talking to people. I mean what are you supposed to say? I was wondering if you hate small talk, but I am guessing you probably do. The fear that I have had in the past was so blinding and overwhelming you can't see anything else. Is that like you then?

I have had trouble before going into stores, I remember that feeling of either wanting to run, or hide. And I still get these feelings at times. You are not alone about being too scared to go into stores and such either.

It sounds like you are being too hard on yourself, if it is OK for me to say?Please don't be hard on yourself.

Yes I too know what it is like to hide away from the world, in your own private safe place, where no one can hurt you, or reject you. For me it has been very lonely. But I do think you, have reached out in some way from your safe little place to here. What I have found here, is it is another safe place, where you can sort of learn to connect and interact with other people, via writing. It doesn't appear as scary as verbally speaking. It has helped me, so maybe it would help you too as well.

I wanted to give you a hug, because I think sometimes we just need one. I do care about you, and hope you will post again.

With love

Shelley xx