I Have Social Anxiety,Help Please????

I'm a 17 yr. old male and i have had some form of social anxiety all my life......... It is really holding me back from doing anything........ I literally stay home all the time; 24/7.......... I have no friends at school.......... I have never had a girlfriend........ I just having major difficulties communicating with people.........I have tried alot of ways to overcome it but nothing works........I have overcome it a little, at first i couldn't talk without getting choked up, but it is a LITTLE better.......not enough to help though...near impossible to talk on a phone......I suffer from depression, which does not help........I don't know if it is a lack of social skills preventing me...i think it's a combination of both a lack of social skills and the anxiety itself (bad combination).........Anyway i would appreciate any advise......it is a hard, hard, HARD thing to deal with.......it disrupts EVERY aspect of my life and it always has..........thanks!

I Have Social Anxiety,Help Please????
I can really relate! I was right where you are about 30 years ago (yeah, I'm old). The root of all your problems is that you have no self esteem. The lack of social skills, anxiety, isolation and depression all stem from that. You need to start believing that you are a wonderful and special person, created by God for a purpose and loved by God just the way you are. Please visit the web site below where you can just read, chat online with someone or call the free phone number to talk with a counselor. You need guidance to change the way you think about yourself and begin a new life.
Reply:Hey there. It sounds like you really need to talk to a Dr. about this. There are all kinds of new meds out that can help you. It is a good thing you realize you need help and should make it easier for you to talk to your dr. If you don't have a doctor just go to a local clinic and pick one out, and that way if you don't have insurance they can't turn you away. Good Luck and Keep Your Hopes High , IT WILL GET BETTER!!!
Reply:I have social anxiety also. Mine stems from having low self-esteem. I have been seeing counsellors since my 20's, but couldn't find one that I could really trust or "connect" with. Finally, around 10 years ago, I found one that truly knew what she was talking about. She stated that my low self-esteem was due to problems I had in my past. Eventually, she earned my trust and through all this counselling, has brought me out of my secure home. (I would hide in my home 24/7 because I felt secure there.) I can't say that I am over it completely, but atleast I know how to take baby steps in order to get out of the house. My suggestion to you is to find a counsellor that you can trust to keep your darkest secrets. Be honest with them, and eventually the two of you will find out how to over come your "set back". Good luck!! and don't give up.
Reply:My fiancee has social anxiety and he menaged to get much better from it with time - almost cured :) So what could be better then knowing that you can actually get rid of it? ;) But it's a hard way to go...then again nobody said it's gonna be easy, right? Best I can do is give you one site that can connect you to the people with a same problems, just to see that you are not alone, that people have similar or same doubts and worries - after all nobody is perfect :), we all have our own bugs ;) So go here: www.socialanxietysupport.com You have a forum there and you can post any question you want, people are very nice (as they are in same situation as you) and they would help gladly! However, it's good to start like that coz you are not getting out of your home at all, but sooner or later it would be good to see a therapist and see if you can take any medications that would help you even more (just remeber NOT to take any on your own, coz doctors are not invented for nothing!!!-sometimes they say something smart actually ;) ). Make sure to write and note if this helps so we would all know :) All the best! P.S. if you need anything you can write me on my email lina_girl06@yahoo.com (feel free to do so!)
Reply:You should ring some helplines up,well first thing you did was tell us about it which was a good thing to do,secondly look in the phone book yellow pages look at some helplines,I have a anxious/nervous feeling of talking on the phone aswell,but medication will help you overcome it,but not fully cure it,social anxiety/anxiety disorder are affected by depression,so you need someone to talk strongly about it,i advise you see a doc ring helplines up first to help motivate you and support you to get help,then book an appointment at the doc prescribe some anti depressants then after a few weeks of meds,book up for a psychiatrist to fully overcome your disorders......trust me it will work ..........in the meantime good luck!!
Reply:Oh my god if i didnt know any better i would think you was my brother he has the same thing i mean it! i wanna know the answeres to this ? myself thank you!
Reply:You need to go to a therapist. And you need to be totally open with your therapist so you can address what needs to be addressed, as painful as it may be. A therapist can help and support you, and provide you with exercises to help improve your self esteem.





Good luck!
Reply:Take a crash course in social education! go to a job core center!


honestly it helped me a lot. so you may want to go ther but rember there are a lot of people who are there because they choose that or jaill.
Reply:Anxiety and panic attacks are indeed one of the worst things one can experience. It seems to take you to a space that's out of control and it scares you to death. That anxiety coupled with stress is what causes depression. Try to get to the root of why you are so introverted and isolating yourself. Once you find that out, you can start to build up your strength to conquer it. If it is self-consciousness, fear of making a spectacle of yourself, fear of mockery or jokes being made about you, those things can easily be conquered by just not caring what people think of you. It only matters to you what people think of you if you care for them, and they must like you for yourself as you have a right to be who you are and you are worthy so just trust yourself. If all this continues, be sure to see a doctor or psychiatrist. I've experienced exactly what you have during my youth and young adulthood. I learned to handle it and you can too.