lonelyheartsxx said:
Exactly, and I feel that way a lot too! Whenever I'm with a crowd of ppl I don't know, I always have this fear (but maybe it's true) that every1 is looking at me in a bad way or talking about me behind my back....it's awful....and I always get nervous & say something stupid a lot of the time when meeting new ppl.
Yes, Anxiety disorders are awful to carry around, and there's no instant cure for it (besides the ever temporary, yet effective alcoholic binge). Rewiring your brain's thought patterns isn't easy, but it's possible.
This isn't going to be a long-ass post. Merely a piece of advice.. something you could try when you begin to feel those uncomfortable anxious thoughts and sensations again. And that is by doing exactly what I just did:
See these horrid symptoms for what they really are - Thoughts and sensations related to anxiety, nothing more.
Mind you, this is hard (not impossible) to put in to practice, especially if you've never learned how to relax properly before. Relaxation is anxiety's antidote. The more you practice relaxation and shooting down your anxious behavior/thoughts in their tracks, the easier it gets.
As with everything, there are exceptions, but this is generally the most effective approach on how to deal with gud-dern anxiety disorders. For further information on how to relax and disempower the unwanted thoughts, see a registered psychologist.
...One that you are comfortable with. There are a lot of quacks and hacks out there in the mental health profession that are
not competent enough to tinker with people's minds, and it's a shame a shiny piece of paper in a wooden-frame saying "Qualified" gives them the power to legally do so.