Archive for June, 2006
Slow Talk
June 29th, 2006 by dashh
From time to time I would like to share with you all some techniques that have helped me deal with my social anxiety. One of those techniques is called Slow Talk. I was introduced to this technique through the handouts of Dr. Richards’ Overcoming Social Anxiety: Step by Step tape/handout series that was the core of the SA support group I attended. The technique is actually very easy to practice although you may feel a little awkward getting use to it. It involves just reading something out loud to yourself but slowing down your speech just enough so that you notice a difference. I would practice reading aloud in slow talk for about 20 minutes a day – usually reading over the handouts from the series in the evenings in my room. I usually really exaggerate and slow my rhythm way down when I practice, which in time has helped me to naturally speak just enough slower in social situations to remain more calm.
Initial Overwhelm
June 29th, 2006 by Aaron
When I finally picked up and read Painfully Shy: How to Overcome Social Anxiety and Reclaim Your Life (which I would recommend to anyone) I was floored. I was not expecting to have so obvious a case of SAD. I felt an immediate sense of relief. Here finally was a chance to see clearly what was going on.
But when I started to talk about SAD, when I started a journal to examine my history and record incidences, something shifted. I realized I was not dealing with isolated anxious moments but a constant presence. I began to feel overwhelmed.
Avoidant Personality Disorder and Social Anxiety
June 26th, 2006 by Ryan Oelke
Many of us, myself included, might meet the diagnoses for Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD) and Social Anxiety. When looking at the criteria for both, you’ll see that while they’re not identical, they do seem to be in the same ballpark. As a person who does fit both disorders, I wonder if they should be treated similarly or separately? Does one have different implications over the other? Let’s take a look at these two disorders, and as we go I’ll share a little about my own experiences. (You’ll notice little footnotes throughout the post. Click on the number to get more information.)
Shawn’s Intro – SA past to present
June 23rd, 2006 by dashh
I wanted to share some about my experiences with social anxiety and social anxiety disorder (SAD) in my intro post here at Anxious Living. As I reflect back, my issues with social anxiety seemed to develop full on during my first few years of undergraduate study in college. I have always been shy and naturally an introvert, but had lots of friends and I was pretty social growing up and through high school. With the start of college though, there was a gradual shift to a more self-conscious and withdrawn person than I’d ever been before. Over the first few years I became isolated to only a few friends and a more and more limited experience the social opportunities that many seem to embrace in college. In high school I had worked in an athletic shoe store dealing with public almost daily but left that job and started taking jobs during the summers where I could avoid as much social contact as possible. My self consciousness and anxiety grew to the point of avoiding eye contact with anyone on campus, not getting my haircut for months on end, physical symptoms from anxiety and even a full blown panic attack driving to class one day where I just wanted to turn around and go home. I avoided a public speaking class until my senior year and almost skipped classes when we had to present our speeches and I never participated in class discussions and froze up when called on in class. Needless to say I was suffering.
Read the rest of this entry »
Aaron’s Introduction
June 22nd, 2006 by Aaron
I have always known I was shy. I have always had trouble getting to know people. I have been ribbed, gently and not-so gently, for being the quiet one in any group.
I have called myself socially awkward, introverted, nervous.
I have long listened to an internal voice, asking, “What will people think of you?” It reminds me not to stand out and never to risk looking foolish.
Social Anxiety 007: Meet Ryan
June 20th, 2006 by Ryan Oelke
(Please note, our introductions will be a bit longer than the average post).
Social anxiety is not always noticeable from the outside. There’s a lot of truth in that for me. Given my work and educational experiences, and personal interactions and relationships with co-workers and friends, it’s interesting that most have no idea I struggle with social anxiety and wouldn’t unless I told them. A few might have some idea that I’m a little “shy”, but most tend to think I’m a sociable guy who is also a bit of a recluse, a very reflective type of person. That’s true, but it’s not the whole picture. No where near.
Welcome to Anxious Living
June 19th, 2006 by Editors
Anxious Living is an exploration into the nature and treatment of social anxiety. As the authors of Anxious Living we write based on our own personal experiences of social anxiety, as well as on formal and informal research. Posts on Anxious Living discuss the experience of social anxiety, in addition to techniques and paths of treatment, both in an objective manner and from individual experience of those techniques and paths. We invite you to join us in this ongoing conversation, whether you yourself struggle with social anxiety, you know someone who does, you are a mental health practitioner, or if you simply have an interest in social anxiety. We encourage you to share your experiences, feelings, thoughts, and ideas in the comment section. Our hope is that this will be a supportive and dynamic site for everyone.
Introductions
This week each of of us will introduce ourselves in individual posts, letting you know a little about our experiences with social anxiety. Please feel free to introduce yourself to us and to fellow readers in the comment section.
Social Anxiety Resources
We hope that Anxious Living connects readers to valuable resources, as well as to other social anxiety blogs. At the top of this site you’ll see a horizontal menu with links to other pages within this site. Our Resource page contains many of the highest quality websites dealing with social anxiety. For literature on social anxiety, check out our SA Books page.
In efforts to create a social network in the blogosphere, we have started a SA Bloggers page. This will be constantly updated as we find other bloggers writing on social anxiety. You’ll also see information on adding a SA Blogger button to your blog.
Upcoming Articles
After introductions, we’ll dive right in to some topics and issues regarding social anxiety. Some examples of what we have in the works are posts (articles) on social anxiety (SAD) assessments, experiences and reflections with those assessments, stress and SAD, the positive side of SAD, family history and SAD, a guest post on living with someone who struggles with SAD, and plenty more. We hope you’ll join us in this exploration.
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