Social anxiety and depression consuming my life.

[merl227]

Bros... I've known these feelings for years. More recently anxiety though because when I was a teenager growing up I was always moving, never had friends, so I kept to myself a lot but I prefer it that way. I'm at a new job and I'm already acting weird. I'm really quiet, partially because I don't care at all to make friends with the people I work with and partially because I'm nervous as ****. I'm ****ing pissed off to admit this but I feel like my fight or flight senses are kicking. My heart races, I get angry very easily, I'm talking in my head a lot/having conversations with myself in my head. It's pissing me off that I act like this. It makes me just not want to be around anyone at all. I've been reading a lot lately but it's like I can't put what I read into action.

[Alvarezzz]

One thing to always keep in mind is that you are fighting the anxiety, not the people you are around. The anxiety puts these imaginary shades on you so that you see everything as a threat, and in turn you immediately put your defense mechanisms up. If you can separate the feelings of anxiety from the individual people, you can begin to re-train your mind to see things more clearly.

[eod8989]

Bro i have anxiety and depression at work and don't talk either. I want to talk to my coworkers but they are all twice my age. Literally everyone there knows me as the quiet guy now so it brings on even more anxiety. No matter what i do i can't talk to them though.

[kauseemcee]

Seems to be so common these days, hang in there man

[kauseemcee]

Also here for a good chat if you need, sometimes a stranger is the perfect person to vent to

[Peppesbodega]

Read about the benefits People might report on "nofap"?

[merl227]

One thing to always keep in mind is that you are fighting the anxiety, not the people you are around. The anxiety puts these imaginary shades on you so that you see everything as a threat, and in turn you immediately put your defense mechanisms up. If you can separate the feelings of anxiety from the individual people, you can begin to re-train your mind to see things more clearly.

I appreciate this insight-unfortunately it comes out like I am defensive towards people when infact I'm fighting against the thoughts. I never thought of it that way. Its definitely more prevalent at work because of how long I am physically there I find it difficult to keep up a certain persona the entire time. I feel like I'm fine when someone initiates a conversation. I can keep it going without thinking, "WTF DO I SAY NOW" But other than that I'm quiet. Someone even said a couple days ago, "you are really, really quiet." I said, "I just use this time to listen to my podcasts and music."

When I was younger, like 13-16 or so I didn't think about what I was going to say I just said it without thought beforehand. Now I can't help but think before I say something, "should I say that." and if I tell myself in my head I probably shouldn't or it's unnecessary, I don't. I need to get that back-the "unfiltered" kind of talk. Just saying what's on my mind. Man I have a lot of work to do.

[latverian41]

I don't have anxiety but depression haunts me 24.7 so I feel for yoiu bro. Its awful. Ppl don't understand unless they have it.

[merl227]

It is, especially during those times where it lingers day in and day out for long periods at a time. I've made a ton of changes regarding my lifestyle and habits in the past 2 years and depression is subsiding a little bit. It definitely comes in waves for me. Sometimes it'll linger for several months at a time but for the past few months I've been feeling better. God damn anxiety is becoming more prevalent now though. I've been looking into different supplements to try to help with it as I really do not want to go on an antidepressant or something like that. I got Vit D3 and fish oil. Also looking into a multivitamin. I just want to be as healthy as I can possibly be now but a few years ago... I was doing all kinds of stupid ****.

edit: Something else that has helped me a good bit is reading. Before I hated reading, I thought it was a waste of time and I read so slow. Now I'm a pretty fast reader, read 5 books last month. It is something that gives me hope. And gaining more knowledge on something is always beneficial.

[BloodFlame91]

Aw I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. I have a bad case of anxiety that flairs up when I'm around a lot of people or with people I don't really know and I do have some depression as well so at the very least, just know you're not alone with this. It sounds like you don't really talk to a whole lot of people so I think something that may help is having someone to talk to whether it be offline or online. That's what helped me a bit. Getting your thoughts out does wonders for the brain so maybe try that. Hang in there!

[Chiper91]

Hey, I also have social anxiety and recently I became depressed and unmotivated to continue my work or get fit. I've been an introvert all my life. I've really enjoyed school so I applied to graduate school but I hate it now. Academic stress, financial hardship and not seeing my family for five years has started to take a toll on me. I want to start working out to get in shape but I never act on that thought. Every day I just think about but end up playing video games or watching movies and eating snacks. I've some messages on other forums but I've received no replies. Thought I would try this forum because I've seen video of people transforming their lives through this website. I thought I might find some encouragement here. Anyone in Miami looking for a workout buddy?

[mot1ve]

I may be wrong, but it seems like your anxiety is more physiological rather than mental? (ie: adrenaline spikes randomly.. you get all defense mechanism.. etc).. Have you been in any traumatic experiences in the past?

[hustle1967]

I would recommend listening to binaural beats and meditating, that has helped improve my anxiety a ton. Just search for them on YouTube, there are tons of different videos, just find one thats right for you and listen to it consistently.

[HalfRightFACE]

Just stop overthinking things, don't think and just act.

[theboy133]

I know the feels