Social Anxiety

[Eve23]

Hi all,

This is my first time posting on this forum. I am 24 years old Irish female who has moved to sydney 7 months ago on my own. I have suffered from social anxiety since I was 18 and sometimes get very acute bouts of it . When I first arrived everything was new , was meeting lots of interesting new people and things were going great but now I have spiralled into very negative thinking. I was always anxious back in Ireland even around my friends and I thought moving to Australia would help me get over it - in the beginning I was feeling great and foolishly thought I could have recovered. At the moment I am struggling to cope and feel hopeless about the future. I have stayed in bed all weekend and feel like I am such a negative burden on my housemates who dont want to be around me. I just cannot seem to cope with becoming an adult and no longer can go crawling back to my parents. I feel with my anxiety it takes enjoyment out of a lot of things in my life. I am seeing a GP and she has put me on medication. I have been on it for 4 weeks and no signs of any improvement. Just wondering if anyone else has felt this way and tips to get out of the slump?

Thank you 🙂

[SubduedBlues]

Hi Eve, Fáilte go dtí an Astráil!

Depending on whether you're from the counties or the big city, Sydney can be overwhelming once the novelty wears off. Being a country boy myself, I too found life in the city a big change. Took quite a while to become acclimated to it.

Luckily, these days there are opportunities in Sydney for people who have social anxiety concerns. On a site called Meetup there are a number of social groups for people with social anxiety; having volunteered with them before I can say that most of these are people in their 20s up to early 30s. They do stuff in small groups, usually about 4-7 people, so that the groups are not too big and scary.

I think the "The Social Anxiety Network" is one of the better ones, but then there is also "Sydney's Shy Young Things (18-35)" which I hear is pretty good.

Hope this helps.

SB

[Croix]

Dear Eve

Welcome here to the Forum (my welcome is a little less complete than SB's 🙂

Coming to the far side of the world away from family, friends and all the normal everyday things in life is a huge and brave step and I guess it is no real surprise that your anxiety has kicked in. It does not mean the future is bleak - just that you've had a reaction and it may take a little time for you to get over it.

Probably to be expected now the first novelty is wearing off.

As you say you have had anxiety for the last six years or so, with ups and downs. I'm sure you will cope. Getting an appointment with a GP and starting medication is coping, as is coming here. With the meds 4 weeks is not an excessive time to start to see results, but perhaps it might be worth contacting your doctor to see if a change should be expected by now. Is therapy as well an option? I found meds alone were not enough for me.

As for growing up and being an adult, you are there and no, it would not be so easy to get your parents' support at the moment. This is something anyone who moves away from home has to deal with and I'm sure if you had enough adventure in you to come here you will take this in your stride too.

SB has mentioned a couple of groups to try, the idea of being with others with whom you can relate sounds quite interesting.

Anxiety does take a lot of the enjoyment out of life, but it is something that can be very much minimized. Have a look around the forum to see what others have done. Have a look at

Forums / Anxiety / SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING ANXIETY

Long, but I've found it very useful

We would be very pleased if you kept on posting and say how you were going

Croix

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Eve23,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for being here.

I'm sorry that you're struggling with anxiety and can imagine that it was a big move to come from Ireland to Sydney! What brought you to Australia?

I hear that you've been dealing with your anxiety since you were 18; so that's quite a while. What sort of techniques and strategies have you used in the past? Is there anything that triggers your anxiety? Were there times in Ireland where you didn't want to get out of bed as well; what helped you with that?

I guess I'm wondering what sorts of things you might have tried and what's helped you in the past, as there is certainly a number of different techniques and strategies that can help but it's often just about finding out what works for you.

SB/ Subdued Blues mentioned a few anxiety groups which might be helpful; but if that's too big of a step maybe it's trying to find something a little easier first.

[HamSolo01]

hey there eve23

what youve described is the reality of social anxiety. I am personally sick of putting on a brave face all the time. It takes the enjoyment out of life for me too and i feel like im a failure at 23. I hate this because it means i have wasted so much of my younger years.

I guess its important you focus on maybe gettin a psych? your gp will help with this

also those meetups that subduedblues spoke of are not bad ideas at all. Ive been to some. But lately i have struggled. Whenever i go i feel worse. I think this is because i struggle to acknowledge what i deal with still? anyways, might see you there one day haha.

Most importantly try to get your gp to set up a psych for you.

All the best

[Johnno_S]

Hi Eve

I understand how social anxiety affects one's life. It is truly horrible. I have suffered from it as long as I can remember.

The Meetup groups are really good. I am a member of one. We do simple stuff like having a coffee at a café and this week we are going to have a game of ten pin bowling. It's a good way of meeting people. I have made two friends through Meetup. I recommend it.

All the best

Johnno

[Sophie_M]

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