Social Anxiety Disorder (S.A.D.)
I have social anxiety disorder, which is basically having a constant immense fear of judgment from others. Personally, my SAD is mainly based on how i look. example of a common thought I have: "everybody is watching me" having this thought often is a symptom of SAD, the feeling that eyes are constantly on you, judging everything about you.
anyone relate to this?
@s0cksz This is such a relatable feeling. Like I can’t help but feel like I wanna look good or fit in but I got over that!! Hopefully u will too some day 💕
@Sxm1ra
same to you :)
@s0cksz thank you its nice knowing that I'm not alone with this I wish you best of luck
@zac607
you too lol
I'm not sure if I have such a disorder, but even if I was diagnosed, my parents would refuse to believe it and try to "help me" by forcing me to socialise, which would probably make it worse.
@m1CHE11e
Personally, when I came out to my mum she rejected me 5 times and it took her 3 years to accept the fact that I am not "shy" and its not because I just "haven't found [my] your group yet".
such a disorder as this can be especially hard for people without the disorder to understand.
I do have some suggestions to help you to maybe get your parents to see what you are struggling with. I suggest you confront a professional about it such as a school social worker or a therapist. hearing from someone, or a "professional" that knows more about it than both you and your parents, often helps them accept that you do have that disorder given that they said so.
hope this helps, wishing all the best <3
Thanks for your suggestions!
@m1CHE11e
ofc (:
I can so relate with the experiences. Though I have studied psychology and am now embarking on a new course that will hopefully see me emerge as a completely new person armed with a post graduate diploma in psychological counseling, I have been struggling with SAD for the longest time. One reason why psychology and mental health attracts me is that the science helps me to discover and know myself at deeper levels and what gives rise to such feelings in the first place. As an adolescent, I was shy to initiate conversations. Though it wasn't apparent to my friends and family. I did a god job of hiding my fears and trepidation. I still hesitate speaking to strangers on the phone and video calls. I try avoiding these to my best. I am not very good at verbally articulating myself, though I can write my stuff out.
@royalPiano4520
glad to hear you could find something that interests you (:
@royalPiano4520 Has the psychology part helped? I think the same way and wanted to learn psychology for the same reason, but being a student, I already have enough subjects to deal with lol.
@s0cksz
Whenever people are around me or anywhere near me, I also feel like they’re watching me, judging me, criticizing me, having conversations with each other about me regarding what they see and/or think of me.
But me caring about other’s opinions of me isn’t as dictating of me as it used to be for so many years in the past.
However I don’t believe my SAD, if I have it which idk for sure if I have it or not, is completely gone. But it’s not as much SAD as before.
CBT has been helping me with it but ultimately the biggest help is me overcoming it myself bc that’s what people who have any anxiety has to do if they don’t wanna live with it anymore.
@akunknown
To be honest... since my SAD went 3 years untreated, it manifested into something that I think, will be with me for a very very long time. it will take a very long time for me to become "normal" again, if that is even possible. I am working on getting better and seeking help, I am glad you are too.
best of luck friend, you are not alone in this struggle <3
@s0cksz I relate a lot to this and I always fear about if I do a simple thing like having fun with my friends that I'll get judged for being the slightest weird. Or I also fear being watch, like you said, and having that person looking down on me thinking what im doing is "weird". If there is actually someone judging you for some reason, then they're the one who's strange, not you. you don't deserve any judgement! I have never met you, but im sure you're a very great person! :) I'm also a very anxious person when it comes to crowds or even my friends so I completely understand. At first thought it sounds fun going to a party or going out somewhere until I consider the scenarios of someone judging me. I'm starting to realize that most people are just paying attention to who they're with rather than you. Even if you do something that may be embarrassing, the only person who will remember is you and not anyone else. I hope everything eventually goes better for you in the future! I hope this helped! :)
@tallGrapefruit54
thank grape (: appreciate you <3
@s0cksz Ofcc! I'm glad to finally speak to someone who understand how I feel! I'm praying for your recovery! <3
@tallGrapefruit54
unfortunately I don't know whether I'll ever fully recover, my SAD went 3 years without treatment which only caused it to manifest... but nevertheless I am working towards recovery and I appreciate you!! (:
Aww.. thats so sad :(( You don't deserve to suffer that long!!! I can't really reach for help outside of this app sinceee my parents are very judgmental and would never take me to therapy so I get that.. but every little thing you do I'm sure will help! :D
@tallGrapefruit54
semi same, it took my mum 2 years to accept that I had SAD and she still rejects me sometimes lol. when summer break is over I encourage you to reach out to a school social worker given that it's free and you don't need parental approval :p that's what I did, he was the one that convinced my mum that I had SAD in the first place.
you are so nice thank :))
yeahh I probably will, for some reason I never thought of that lol, but thank you so much! you are very nice as well! :)
@Insomniacx It's so sad that parents do not relate or resonate with what their children go through at times. I wouldn't say that it's intentional just that when there is wide gap in perspective and when they are deficient in expressing empathy or understanding is just when things start spiraling downwards. You are extremely brave and yet so compassionate and gentle. More power to you!!
@royalPiano4520 thank you very much!! I'm just not close at all to my parents honestly because of it lol I don't even feel comfy talking to them anymore- but I hope to move away from them in about a year and a half though!! which feels so far away but still worth it
Hi @s0cksz, i also face the same challenges whenever I leave the comfort of my room. I've been struggling with this for more than five years now, i didn't go for therapy or even got diagnosed due to financial and other reasons. If it's okay with you, can you share how this disorder started for you, what tends to decrease or increase levels of anxiety and did this lead to other disorders.
Q1. For me, i used to be a well known person socially, i developed S.A.D symptoms when my closest friend died where i became depressed and isolate myself in my room for a very long time with which afterwards i have difficulties connecting with people and don't feel comfortable in public again.
Q2. For me, engaging in non social activities i enjoy decrease the symptoms, stress and overwhelme due to deadlines and forced interactions (e.g being in a classroom or with relatives) and relapses (i will explain more below) increase the symptoms.
Q3. Due to stress and emotional weight that comes with S.A.D, I've developed both positive and negative coping strategies. The positives includes practicing mindfulness while the negatives includes compulsive behavior addiction and general anxiety. Whenever i relapse to the addiction, my anxiety levels rise and in some occasions will miss days of school because of that.
Note: Keep in mind that you don't have to share your challenges if you don't feel like doing so.
I hope you get better soon and I wish to hear from you again.
@peaceseeker03
hiii, I took a cups break around the time you posted this!!! I would like to share but i'll do it later bc I don't have time rn )):
@s0cksz It's super tough - I've found that teaching others around us how to active listen can help
@DavidReynolds1
@DavidReynolds1 I agree. It's just that there is a dearth of genuine listeners in the world around, family or friends. It gets tough to connect with people on the same page. No doubt, communication and interactions are increasing more on the web than in-person, and it is sad. It's just because we are not trained to listen patiently to our own people who are struggling with issues.
@s0cksz yes! I mean, I don't always have the feeling people are watching me, but i'm incredibly uncomfortable when I know someone is. it's pretty strong and very uncomfortable. I can't work/write/edit or anything while I know someones watching lol. whenever someone is watching me I feel like I'm doing something wrong
@wrenrainygardens
@s0cksz I suffer with the same thing. Although I have this fear that people are judging everything I am doing, and I have this weird obsession of being a "likable" person, despite knowing that its not possible to be liked by everyone. Thanks to SAD, I cannot make friends easily, in group conversations I am the quietest person and everyone says that I am very distant. It affects me the most in public speaking because I tend to overthink and on top of that, perfectionist tendencies make it ever harder. I end up being a nervous wreck on stage with my whole body shivering with fear, me sweating profusely, speaking very fast and being out of breath. And I would literally do anything to get rid of this stupid, stupid disorder. I feel very sad for people dealing with SAD because public speaking is a very important skill for most careers but this one disorder can ruin everything. Another reason why I feel sad for people dealing with SAD is because I think social anxiety is often confused with "shyness", and that's so irritating considering how different they both are. Social anxiety, or anxiety is general is quite often neglected, even the person who suffers from it neglects it often.
