Posted 4/20/2014 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
Please don't worry about it being an extreme problem. It's something a lot of people experience and I think it's really good that you're recognising that this bothers you at an early stage and are seeking to do something about it by seeking advice here. It obviously isn't how you'd like things to be for yourself so you're looking for ways to help yourself and that's a really good thing.
I've read many posts on here and yours was the first I saw where I just had to reply as I recognise so much of what you said and wish someone had encouraged me to seek support/help when I was your age rather than waiting so long as I did. I wouldn't fear it getting worse as no-one knows what our future holds and how we'll deal with things and how things will turn out...you just have to take each day as it comes and see how things go.
I'd like to share my experience with you though, if you don't mind, for you to understand why I wanted to reply and in the hope it'll help you with your worries/ decision whether you want to do anything about your fear or just see how things go and keep an eye on it.
I can recognise feeling the same way throughout my teenage years and college in terms of feeling anxious in social situations. I like to think that I achieved a lot despite the things I found difficult ( a degree, a postgrad degree and a decent job) However, I was allways aware that I struggled socially throughout this time. Looking back now, I realise I let my fears hold me back from being able to enjoy many things. I also recognise now how extreme my anxiety was sometimes and that at that time I didn't understand that that was what it was and I never talked to anyone about it. I felt extremely anxious and didn't tell anyone at all about it. I just buried my head in studies and achieveing what I wanted. Eventually, I found myself with the qualifications I wanted and the job I wanted but really having sacrificed my health and happiness along the way. I'd let the anixety affect me so that I'd missed out on things and that in turn made me depressed in the end too.
I don't say this to scare you (the last thing I'd want is for you to worry more!) or to imply this is how things are bound to turn out for anyone who has anxiety. I say it only explain my experiences and to illustrate the point that I look back now and wish I'd understood this much sooner.....maybe if I'd addressed things at the beginning of it all then it might have been easier to change things and maybe I wouldn't have experiences as many struggles/ struggled for so many years and maybe things wouldn't have developed as they did for me. They may not develop into anything with you but would it do any harm to look into coping strategies/ discuss why you feel this way now just as a safety net so that it doesn't become unmanagable for you? A little like prevention rather than cure? (act now rather than waiting till it does bother you and then looking for medication) Just a thought.
I can recognise now that these issues began in my early teens. I began taking medication at the age of 21 for depression (which developed as a response to feeling the anxiety for so long and it causing me to isolate myself too much). Nearly 9 years on I'm still on that medication and find it helped to lift my general mood...before taking the medication I would get quite tearful a lot of the time and that's not the case anymore. The medication I take is also meant to help lower general anxiety also. However, if I'm honest the thing that i feel has helped most is discussing my feelings so that i can begin to undertsand it and look for non-medication routes to work on changing it. In my oppinion, understanding it by talking to a therapist has given me more power to try and deal with it and not let it rule me so much. At the end of the day meds will address the symptoms but talking about things and understanding them could address the cause which may be a more powerful solution.
Looking back over this now I realise what was meant to be a short sharing of my experience has become a long lecture. I appologise for that and hope that what I've said helps you in some way. I guess I'm hoping my experiences could help someone else to not feel the way I did for so long.
Take care. xxx