Posted by King Vultan on June 9, 2004, at 19:28:32
In reply to Does anybody with SPhobia have similar thoughts?, posted by tepiaca on June 9, 2004, at 2:05:19
It sounds like my social phobia is not nearly as pronounced as yours. Mine is characterized by a fear of scrutiny combined with runaway perspiration, in which I'll start feeling uncomfortable in some social situation, even around people I know, and I'll start perspiring and quickly become drenched with sweat. Of course, the fact that I am obviously sweating like a pig makes me feel all the more self conscious and just feeds the process even more. It has been particularly bad in situations where I tend to feel trapped, such as standing in lines in stores or going to dinner in a restaurant with somebody in some kind of social situation. Sometimes, I've had to excuse myself and go to the restroom to sweat in private and dry my head off, if you can believe that.
It seems clear that your situation is far more debilitating, but I hope you can take some heart in my telling you that I am getting a very good handle on my problem, inspite of many of my efforts in the past being futile. It sounds like you could very much use some kind of talk therapy, and I highly recommend it if it's available. I don't mean to disparage you, and I'm not a psychologist, but you do appear to have some severe self esteem and assertiveness issues that may have a great deal to do with your problem. I might be in the same boat, as I don't feel my self esteem has traditionally been very high, but the fact that I am relatively assertive has likely helped keep my situation from assuming more of the character of yours. I do wish you well, and I certainly hope you are able to get the help that you need.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:354987
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040608/msgs/355224.html