War paint

[Gypsy_soul]

Im a 34 yr old male, and have lived with a social anixiety dissorder for as long as i can remember.

I have never spoken about my anixiety, and have been battling it for 36 years.

Every day i put on my war paint, walk outside and face the world as best i can. Those close to me see me live my busy life, and always happy, but i spend my time living in fear of dealing with my worst fear. People

I wish i could have had a normal fear like of spiders or snakes.

But instead i live in fear of humans.

As with some of you who also live with anxiety , you know the feeling of how much it wears you down trying to deal with it alone, every day but dealing with it since every day of your life, is an experience on its own.

Today is the first day i admit my weakness and disply my white flag, and say im tired of anxiety.

My name is gypsy soul, i want to say hello, and i know how it feels to be your worst own enermy

[PamelaR]

Hi Gypsy Soul and warm welcome to our forums

So good you've found your way here. Anxiety is the pits at times, isn't it? Though it can be managed, even though it doesn't feel like it at times.

Also glad that you're putting up the white play and saying you are tired of anxiety. Maybe it's time for a change for you?

It seems like you are a very active person with a lot of contact with people. Would that be a fair assumption to make?

While not a health professional, I have anxiety and depression, mainly from PTSD. And yes like you I too fear people. My hypervigilance is up at the moment, so when ever there is a loud noise or someone comes up behind me (even if they make a noise), I jump out of my skin. I did that this morning in a dress shop and 'I scared the store keeper'. Go figure. However, what helps me is - to recognise that I am hypervigilant, that I am triggered but I am SAFE. It reduce my racing heart, my increased perspiration and my flighty mind.

Do you have any ideas about what it is that causes you to fear people? No pressure at all for you to answer, only if you want.

There are many who visit and post on our forums that have social anxiety. Many have shared tips on how they manage to go out. Feel free to browse and join in discussions that you find similar to your situation.

Also, the thread - Self Help Tips for Managing Anxiety is good for ideas on what one can do. Everyone is different and everyone responds differently to ways of managing it. If you're interested, the thread can be found by searching in the search tool at the top of our webpage.

Kind regards

PamelaR