Jul 5, 2009

Doing well!

Long time, no see!


I'm in a contemplative mode right now, so I figured I could write an update. My social anxiety is better than ever. I'm feeling funny at times, but I just acknowledge it and brush it off: it's just like having a runny nose: just take a tissue, wipe your nose and move on. No big fuss. Just yesterday I casually invited my brothers in law out for lunch... me? alone with guys other than my husband?making the invitation without any hint of hezitation? - who's this girl?

I dropped yoga for a long time, and I just got back to it this last week. I am a different person, I found back my anxiety-free world. I see now that I have conditioned myself to be anxiety-free when doing yoga. So I need to keep on doing it. It's great!

I will be moving out of the country for 6 months and I am quite emotional and observant about everything around: admiring my neighbourhood, the trees, the birds, my car. I am packing my whole house and it's great to touch each object. Bring back memories.

For those of you that were around at the time when I had an impossible dream, the dream became quite possible. I am taking an online course of Health Care for IT Professionals and doing really well and I think by the end of this course I will be able to find some work. My doctor was already interested in me coming to review her workflow and help with their new EMR system.

The conclusion is: social anxiety can be beaten without medication. You can achieve your dreams no matter how crazy they seem to be. Just don't give up. Keep pushing yourself. But you need to know what you're pushing for: clarify your priorities and your goals.

10 comments:

Joseph said...

Congratulations on your fantastic progress! I am especially impressed that you have done this without the assistance of prescription medication. You're right, it CAN be overcome without pills. Good luck!

MHR Center for Women said...

Social anxiety can be so crippling..I am so pleased to read about someone taking action without the aid of medication to do it! Wishing you the best of luck :)

George - I have Social Anxiety said...

Hi... I wish I have your success experience... anyhow, congratulations and keep posting

Lexine said...

Hi, I just wanted to let your readers know about the free psychological treatment program we offer for people with social anxiety who use alcohol to cope with their nerves.
This free cognitive behavioural treatment is offered by qualified psycholgist as part of a clinical trial being conducted at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
For more info, see http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/casp/
call (02) 9850 8670 or email: casp@psy.mq.edu.au

All the best,

Lexine

Clarissa said...

That is great you have improved. I wish I could say the same for myself. I suffer from social anxiety and it is really hard to deal with. My doctor says I need more exercise and from what I have been reading on the net, it seems she might be right. Maybe it will help relieve my anxiety and let me get back into socializing. Thanks for this post. It gives me hope for the future.

http://www.whatcausesanxiety.org/

Anonymous said...

It is great that there are people who are able to successfully cope with anxiety without the help of prescription medicines. Those individuals who are undergoing family counseling to deal with such will surely find your experience as an inspiration. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Thanks for giving social anxiety publicity. I myself have made a post with the 5 top myths about social anxiety, check it out if you want and tell me what you think! =) http://www.antisocial-carl.blogspot.com/2013/02/top-5-myths-about-social-anxiety.html

Anonymous said...

Are you still on medication for social anxiety? Do you currently have an exit strategy to ween your way of of prescriptions?

Curious to hear back. I know it's been a while since you've been active on this site.

Anonymous said...

Are you still taking medicine to manage your social anxiety? I'd love to hear an update, although I know it's been a while since you've posted on this blog.

Ileana said...

Jason, I didn't take meds while working on my social anxiety. For me it worked well without meds. It wasn't easy, but it worked. Not sure I would be just as adamant about not taking meds, but make sure you talk to someone that both took and quit taking the same meds that you are trying. Some of these meds are really difficult to quit.