my social anxiety, can anyone relate?

my social anxiety is kinda weird. ive never had trouble talking to people with authority. but sometimes i feel quite anxious when im eating around other people. im afraid that i'll let my guard down. or sometimes i think that another person should have not said what he just said, and that makes me anxious. also sometimes if i consider the person cool but he has like a unibrow and i start thinking that looks stuipid, then i get anxious. i hate making long periods of eye contact with people. also if i regularly see a good looking women and one night i masturbate thinking of her and see her the next day, im anxious and afraid she might know that i did that.
does that sound along the lines of social anxiety, and can anyone relate?

sure i can relate to that, so what who cares, the only reason your having problems with it is because ur having problems in other parts of life

take a walk/get out of the house
write/play music
meditate

creative wrote:my social anxiety is kinda weird. ive never had trouble talking to people with authority. but sometimes i feel quite anxious when im eating around other people. im afraid that i'll let my guard down. or sometimes i think that another person should have not said what he just said, and that makes me anxious. also sometimes if i consider the person cool but he has like a unibrow and i start thinking that looks stuipid, then i get anxious. i hate making long periods of eye contact with people. also if i regularly see a good looking women and one night i masturbate thinking of her and see her the next day, im anxious and afraid she might know that i did that.
does that sound along the lines of social anxiety, and can anyone relate?

I have no problem with people of authority, but eating with co-workers for someones going away party is always awkward and can't pinpoint why. Maybe it's the social setting vs. work, I don't know what to talk about; sports for instance bores me to tears because I know very little about it and/or interested. Usually I don't bother anymore; it's not worth the hassle; even driving in the same car is weird. I just work with these folks; don't care to be 'buddies'.

Letting down your guard can be a concern I suppose, but I never worry. People will talk and make assumptions regardless; so why fight it? I feel it's important to make eye-contact or else they will try to intimidate, which I resist. The 'unibrow' reference made me laugh - sorry, but yes I'm usually anxious in social situations; expectations and protocol are hard to figure sometimes.

weird, i found the right dose of lithium my socially anxiety is gone for the most part.

d-vade wrote:weird, i found the right dose of lithium my socially anxiety is gone for the most part.

Isnt' that stuff for major bipolar cases? My mother has been on it a short time many years ago, she had to take blood tests every week I think...

Some doctors prescribe it even for mild cases such as Bipolar II,
while others prefer to try lamotrigine or valproate first, and yet
others don't even notice mild cases of Bipolar II and treat it as
unipolar Major Depression.

Following up on the blood levels once a week is more than
recommended and probably excessive in most cases, except
perhaps when changing doses or adding/removing other drugs
that may interact with lithium.