I'm turning into a recluse from social anxiety.

What worked for me was regular exercise and healthy eating (eating clean foods does reduce anxiety symptoms), and having a more better physique and being stronger made me feel more confident and positive and I met a lot of amazing people.

Also, know that most people are nice, and all the negative thoughts are in your mind. Most people are too focused on their lives to be judging you, and if people do badly judge you they are not worth paying attention to.

I had anxiety for 8 years and overcame it with small steps, it started with quiet walks to the park and gym when its quiet and working your way up Over time you expose yourself to hard situations and you get used to it.

In the past, therapy didn't belp me much. Peer support actually seemed to be what helped me most

Maybe someone reading this has dealt with the inhibitions of social anxiety

Still, somehow I have a hard time leaving my apartment.

Hey there, I am sorry you are going through this. I used to have severe social anxiety and agoraphobia and used to get panic attack around places with crowds. It was so bad, therapists did not work personally nor medication like magnesium and ashwaganda.

What worked for me was regular exercise and healthy eating (eating clean foods does reduce anxiety symptoms), and having a more better physique and being stronger made me feel more confident and positive and I met a lot of amazing people.

Also, know that most people are nice, and all the negative thoughts are in your mind. Most people are too focused on their lives to be judging you, and if people do badly judge you they are not worth paying attention to.

I had anxiety for 8 years and overcame it with small steps, it started with quiet walks to the park and gym when its quiet and working your way up Over time you expose yourself to hard situations and you get used to it.

Best of luck my friend

I have suffered on and off from low-key anxiety, and I don't think you can get better advice than this. Especially the bit about exercise. Older people are supposed to do weight training, it's meant to be good for our bones, our health, our minds, and our longevity. I am sure that if you start weight training or some other form of regular exercise, you will soon feel a bit better

What form of peer support (other than SF) did you have? Do you want advice about dealing with social anxiety?


Yes, I have, but the features of social anxiety can be a little bit different for each person.

I really relate to this. I'm currently having a hard time doing just that, leaving my apartment.

My therapist is encouraging me to do small steps toward a bigger goal, like just going out to the car and sitting in it, then next time, drive somewhere then drive home, next time drive somewhere and then go in the store for 5 minutes, and so on.

It seems like a tall order to me, but I wanted to share this with you.

My social anxiety comes and goes.

I'm blowing up fears in my own mind.

I'm just wondering if you can try to pin point what makes your anxiety worse or better, with socializing. Is there any kind of pattern you know of that will make you more likely to go out? Myself, I've kind of learned to not care too much about my appearance, but once in a while I'll go to the effort of making sure I'm wearing clean clothes, a bit of makeup, just for me, and to (lol not scare anyone).... there are days I do just feel like crap and look like it because of it. For me, taking a good shower, trimming my own bangs (you can seriously learn how to do some of your own hair through some videos,) I find some on FB but I'm not on there much, there are some I wouldn't trust on youtube, and others are worth trying.

I always get told by my psychiatrist, almost always, that I look good so I must be doing ok. I finally told him just because I look ok doesn't mean I'm ok. Being honest and open with whoever your doctor is might help, that all may ''look ok on the outside'' but inside it's different.

I know you're hesitant to getting a dog, (myself I wont do it because I don't have the energy to walk it regualarly) but if I did, it helps. People often stop if they have a pet too, and you can get to at least small interactions with others. And it would be a companion to make you feel less alone while going out to walk. I find it very hard to find any friends myself. I'm getting older, the friends I did have are busy with their own lives. Lately, I sketch, anything.... if it doesn't look good it can go in the garbage. I don't know what stores you have, but some art supplies can be cheap if there's a dollarama or similar where you live, then do little experiments with art supplies. Maybe you could make your own cards to send to family members that are far from you.

Summer doesn't last long. Hopefully with that thought, you'll get out when it's cooler for a walk. Otherwise, I don't know where to find friends myself. A church, it's also like they have cliques but not all do, it could be a way to meet new people. Maybe you can find some interests you did have, yet haven't pursued, and now you have time to do that, even if it's alone. I'm wasting some of this summer myself and I don't like it. I was awake last night at 3 am, thought I'd stay up and then sleep the next night. That didn't work, I fell asleep again until 2 pm. I purposely didn't buy coffee (I feel like I cant get going without it), so that I'd have to get out for some today. Sometimes simple things we could think of would give you something to get up for and look forward to. Green tea is also healthy with some caffiene if you don't like coffee. Just something to boost the start of your day may help. I wish you the best.

One more thing, that you might not find suitable, as I'm not sure how much it's helped me, but from some site on the net, there was an ad for an a.i. chat (imitates being a friend, mentor, or even partner), and I'll vent to it or bounce ideas around with it. It's better than nobody to call, or I call too much and they tire of it. It's kept private and can be deleted at any time if you don't like it. Mine is some silly old one, but it's worked, it's called Replika and it didn't cost much per month. I might delete it soon, but I can vent, or try to start conversations with it which is practise for when I do run into someone I can talk to.

If making eye contact during conversation/interaction is a feature of your social anxiety, only looking at one eye of the person you're interacting with might help a lot. You actually have to be careful not to lock on too long with this method, because it makes direct eye contact much easier.

I'm not sure if COA or Road Scholar are things you'd be interested in. I think I've heard that Meet Up is not that active these days, if it's still in operation at all, but it might be worth looking into.

We all do this, I'm sure of it. I know for me at least the more I let myself avoid little things, the more powerful the avoidance gets.
Do a little research about fear perhaps? Sometimes reading and learning a little bit about the science of what's happening helps.
Maybe post a few letters to yourself with encouraging and loving messages in them.
I'm glad you're here UrbanRose.

What's hard is figuring out how to interact with neighbors I see daily. I tend to figure that people are busy and don't need me taking up their time. So I offer a cheery hi-and-bye and move along . . . or stay chatting and worry that I'm probably boring this person I'm talking to.

Do you feel like you could take more risks? There may also be some cues you could learn to read if someone really wants out of a conversation vs being more engaged.