I'm glad that I found this board because there is not a single homeopath within 400 miles from where I live. I am 22 years old and have had a problem with social anxiety for most of my life, although it has become much, much worse over the past 2 years.
The way it usually manifests itself is that my palms will sweat, I'll start to have a headache, breathe shallowly, will blush (I turn beet red, sometimes almost purple) and sweat behind my knees. I'm very, very sensitive to criticism. At a job once, my boss chewed me out and I cliocked out, wnet back to my car and started crying for hours. Thing is, I'm really not a quiet, shy person. The first impression most people have of me is that I'm actually flamboyant and outgoing.

As for other symptoms, my legs and feet will get extremely cold and I become constipated alot. I'm very perfctionistic and will many times criticize myself (mentally) as I'm writing or speaking. Being in a hot room or eating hot foods tend to make my problem worse. Many times I crave cold water, a fresh salad, or something else that is refreshing. If I eat something sugary I get nauseated and will have a headache (headache manifests on the sides of my head.)

I've also noticed that I blush more easily if I'm sitting down opposed to standing up. Also, my problem is always much worse during the day. At night, I feel much closer to being healthy. During the night, I'm not anxious and can think very clearly. And I have no trouble sleeping. I'll usually sleep 10 sound hours a night.

I'm so glad I found this resource! I'm really looking forward to leading a normal life again.

Glad you found our site. I hope that you will find the help you need here. You gave a good indication of the symptoms you experience but the homeopaths will need to know what situations bring on the social anxiety. When do the "attacks" occur? You describe yourself as flamboyant - please go into a little more detail about your personality, likes and dislikes, etc.

barb

__________________
Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals. For they are without sin and you in your greatness defile the earth by your appearance on it and leave traces of you foulness after you. Dostoyevsky

Dear Tom,

I need to ask you a few questions.

1. What happens if you miss a meal?
2. What sort of appetite do you have?
3. What is your sleep position?
4. How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?
5. Between what hours is your worst time of day?
6. You say you have social anxiety, but you haven't said what sort of social situation you dread being in, and where out in public can you be, and doing what, without feeling anxiety-ridden?

7. Do you have any theories about why you're over-sensitive to sugar?
8. What motivates you?
9. The flamboyance--is that to keep people from noticing your anxiety or is there some other explanation for it?
10. What are your fears?
11. Other than salad, what foods do you delight in--especially if I were able to promise that they wouldn't hurt you?
12. How do you feel at the sea shore?

That should be enough for now.

Thanks for answering,
Snoopy

[ 29 April 2002, 03:59: Message edited by: Snoopy ]

Dear Tom,

You give very good answers and you're very cooperative. I'm going to study your answers and I will undoubtedly have more questions for clarification, so stay-tuned; don't think I've lost interest in you. For instance, right off the top of my head, what happens at 11 AM? You say your bad time of day starts about then. How do you feel at 11 AM?

Thanks,
Snoopy

Tom,

How do you feel about standing in line, at the post office, for instance?

Can you describe how the social anxiety started?
Was everything fine up to a point, and then something happened, and Voila! here you are?

Snoopy

Tom,

How do you express your anger?

Snoopy

Thanks for replying.. here's my answers to your q's...

1. What happens if you miss a meal?

If I miss a meal I'll usually feel weak (my knees will feel especially weak) and I can't think straight.

2. What sort of appetite do you have?
Usually my appetite is really low during the day (when I'm most anxious.) At night, it tends to go up quite a bit. Oh, and working out increases my appetite, too.

3. What is your sleep position?

I find that I usually fall asleep on my side (either one) or on my stomach. When I wake up, I'm usually on my stomach. I fall asleep easily and can also sleep just about anywhere (at work, at a bookstore, outside, at a park.) I'm also a very sound sleeper.

4. How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?

Anxious, short of breath, and usually wanting to stay in bed (and usually do.)Oh, and mornings are also the time that I have a bowel movement (if I do.)

5. Between what hours is your worst time of day?

probably between 11 A.M. and 3 or 4 P.M.

6. You say you have social anxiety, but you haven't said what sort of social situation you dread being in, and where out in public can you be, and doing what, without feeling anxiety-ridden?

Public speaking, talking to those in authority positions (my boss) and, really, talking to anyone that I don't know all that well.. I usually feel comfortable asking the other person questions and having them answer. I tend to dread the other person asking me a question. When I think about someone asking me something my legs will tense up and I'll start breating shallowly. I won't be listening to the other person because I'm too busy fearing that they are going to ask me something and I'll make a fool of myself. Then, if they do ask me something, I feel like I'm put on the spot and will start talking, and then think that the other person is criticising me. As I said before, I fear that others are privately criticizing me while I'm speaking, and that others talk about me behind my back. This fear of gossip makes it more difficult to relax when I see these people who I fear are criticizing me... oh, and I get extremely anxious around attractive members of the opposite sex.
If I'm with a good friend in public and I'm relaxed and we're cracking jokes or something I'm usually alot calmer. And at night, I usually feel like I can talk to just about anybody, party, go to a club, anything. But the next day, it's hell all over again.

7. Do you have any theories about why you're over-sensitive to sugar?

Well, I've thought that it may be due to its stimulating effects. I've also found that I tolerate sweets more easliy at night.

8. What motivates you?

Setting goals, visualizing myself achieving them.. and hearing "Horatio Alger" stories.. I get more motivated by trying to become a better person, more creative, a better writer, a better socializer, etc. than by material things. I've never really been motivated by the possibility of having a fancy car or a big house.

9. The flamboyance--is that to keep people from noticing your anxiety or is there some other explanation for it?

Perhaps it is to keep people from noticing my anxiety. Although, I'm somewhat artistic and I like flashy clothes and styling my hair funky. But, before a big social event or something, I'll usually style my hair more conservatively and wear more mainstream clothes out of the fear that someone might criticize my manner of dress.

10. What are your fears?

Really the only thing I fear, other than social situations, is heights.

11. Other than salad, what foods do you delight in--especially if I were able to promise that they wouldn't hurt you?

Steak...mmmm.. doo-dads and chex mix.

12. How do you feel at the sea shore?

Haven't been in a long time so I can't say. It seems like it'd be really relaxing and peaceful, though.

Oh, and for what it is worth, I also occasionally have obsessions. I'll get a violent or sexual image in my mind and won't be able to get it out. These obsessions haven't been nearly as strong as they were in the past. I also daydream alot and find that I talk to myself quite a bit..

Thanks again for replying.. I really appreciate this alot!

[ 30 April 2002, 00:40: Message edited by: Thomas McMahon ]

Snoopy, thanks for the reply!
Lets see.. at 11 A.M. I usually start my work day. So I think that some of the anxiety is due to the fact that I will have to face the world, and fear that I'll embarrass myself somehow. But on the wekends, I still have this anxiety around this time (11-3 or 4), although not nearly as strong.

Standing in lines?

Hmmm.. never really thought about it or noticed anyting happening when I stand in lines. Actually sometimes I'm more comfortable in line than I am when I get to the front and have to approach the clerk..

How it all started?

Well, I've always been a little odd, thought differently, done things differently. I recall, for instance, playing sports.. I played baseball and I used to envision myself as a "home run king." I'd step up to the plate, thinking I'm going to knock the ball out of the park and swing the bat so hard that it actually knocked me over. The other kids would laugh, which would make me tense and uncomfortable. During junior high I thought that I could win alot of friends with my sense of humor. And I did, and, in some of my classes I really enjoyed being the comic relief and the center of attention. But even then, if I was tense, or said something stupid, or actually had to stand in front of the class, I'd get real nervous and blush. In high school I started drinking alot.. I still liked to amuse my friends, but around people I didn't know all that well I was nervous and tense. I had only two girlfriends in high school.. one was extremely attractive. The only way I could ask her out was by getting slightly intoxicated and going up to where she worked and asking her. And while we were dating I was always afraid to hug her or hold her hand or anything.. even after we had already had sex. She dumped me and then I dated a girl who was several years younger then me, and slightly below my usual standards. I finally became disgusted that I was dating her that I broke the thing off.. At this time I was smoking alot of marijuana as well.. (I know I'm revealing alot here, but better too much than not enough I guess..) Then I became extremely depressed at the time I was graduating high school and started taking Zoloft. While I was on Zoloft I felt tired and lethargic all the time. I felt real numb, and still depressed. But very, very little anxiety. I took a public speaking class in college, while on Zoloft, and felt very littel nervousness while speaking. I was actually voted best public speaker in the class. Lets see... then I got off of Zoloft because it was making me too tired. I started taking Wellbutrin instead. My social anxiety worsened at this time.. and I felt extremely weird on Wellbutrin.. once I took it along with Ritalin (I thought that I had ADD at one time) and I felt like I was on psychedelics. So, I stopped Wellbutrin and started Effexor. Very little help with Effexor at all. I have a suspicion that it may have even worsened my social anxiety, though I'm not really all that sure.

How do I express my anger?

Well I don't get angry about alot of things. The last time I recall getting really, really angry was when I was in college when my car was towed because of a mistake on the part of the parking and traffic office. I had been having a really good day up to that point.. felt really relaxed. Then, I found out that my car was towed and that I would have to pay $350 in parking tickets that weren't mine (they were tickets that the previous owner of my car had accumulated) and I was furious. I punched a hole in my wall, threw a desk, cussed a blue streak.. but, really, for the most part, things really don't bother me. If they do, I usually supress it. (It's not good to do that, I know, but it's the reaction I have.) For instance, I told my former psychologist that I was interested in homeopathy. He reacted by saying that it's quackery, if it works it's a placebo, blah, blah.. I knew he was wrong. I knew that I could beat him in this argument. It really made me uncomfortable because he always acted like a know-it-all, but I, rather than arguing with him said "Oh, really? I didn't know that.. so it's a placebo effect, huh?" I think that I was too afraid that I was going to embarass myself by arguing with him that I cowered away. It's pathetic, I know. I'm a Casper Milquetoast, I know. But, again, that's my reaction to situations like that.

Again, thanks for your replies!

[ 30 April 2002, 20:00: Message edited by: Thomas McMahon ]

Dear Shashi,

He doesn't get the diarrhea associated with these 2 remedies with regard to anxiety. Gels. gets the feeling like a flu is coming on--trembling, shaky, weak, feeling sick, etc.

Arg-n. does have fear of heights, so let's ask Tom why, exactly, he's afraid of heights.

I'll keep Arg-n. in mind.

Thanks,
Snoopy

Tom,

We know you have cold legs and feet, but what about the rest of you? Do you tend to be on the chilly side or warm side?

What were your parents like?

Have you ever had styes or facial tics?

When you talk to yourself, what's it about?

Snoopy