[mat2]

I'm 23 and in college. My life has been very uneventful and boring. My low confidence has made me avoid all the opportunities I've come across. I avoid situations where I might have to deal with people due to my social phobia.I can not assert myself and often tremble, sweat and become togue tied when I have to confront someone.as a result I give in and people take advantage of me leaving me feeling worthless. I have no social skills to make or retain friends. I've never had a girlfriend and the thought of approching one scares me to death.I know that a very important part of my life is not being developed but ican do nothing about it. I'm very depressed and totally reserved. I've never talked to anyone about my situation(evryone sees me as normal and will not understand). Financially I'm in no position to see a consellor. Please help before I implode.:confused:

[Superfly999]

LOL! Omg... your situation sounds EXACTLY like mine. I won't tell my family about my social phobia and it is pretty bad but I some how make myself seem normal in front of others although I am in NO way feeling normal. My close friends can see it every time I go out and they realize it. I am getting better now though do to 1 reason and it has changed me a lot. I had a random STRONG panic attack that I went to the ER over because I thought my heart was stopping; it was actually a panic attack that lasted over like a week. I went to the doctor and he put me on anti depressants which of course made me not depressed. Here's where it gets interesting. Anti depressants ALSO help with social phobia. I know it has helped me a LOT and I mean a lot. Of course, your social phobia is still there but this helps TONS. What I would do is go to the doctor and ask him about them. Yes, your family and maybe some friends or semi friends might find out but trust me, you won't care at all once you feel SO much better. Who cares if you are on them and people know if you feel 100% better and actually can do things.

Trust me, you are not alone. I regret not getting on them when I was in high school because I miss out on basically EVERYTHING. I am lucky to even have friends right now because of how I was. Good luck to you though.