Any advice for a guy with social phobia and depression?
before you say therapy and medication let me say what i have tried. 4 years of individual therapy, 1 year of group therapy, 6 months of cognitive behavioral therapy. various medications including zoloft, effexor, remeron, paxil, lexapro, klonopin
i dont know what to do anymore and i feel hopeless
please help me
i forgot to mention that i have a feelings of extreme lonelieness
oh and also im 19 in my second year of college and have no friends
Posted in depression cognitive
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August 12th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
yeah talk to me! haha
August 12th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
hmm for the social phobia part, I would try online chat groups first, like a warm up thing. Then branch out from there, and work on going out to small resteraunts with relatives or a close friend. then work up the ladder until you are comfortable with social settings. This could take many years even. Just take your time. As for the depression, maybe advancing towards your goal will help with the depression, your contact with relatives or close friends should help your lonelieness. Try looking for a significant other on this journey as well if you don’t already have one. Hope that helps.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Well, just as Dezzy said, try online chat groups! They can be very fun and you don’t even have to show your face. As for the loneliness, even if you have social phobia, try finding some people that have the same interests as you. Trust me, finding people that like the same things will be easier to become friends with.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
hang in there hun. you are going to be fine!! i dont recommend meds…b/c i was on effexor for several months and i stopped b/c i realized i’m a strong person. and so are you! i think meditation helped me the most. you should def. try meditating..put on some soothing music and just relax. think about the positive things in your life. watch the movie :"the secret"…that movie inspired me to look at the glass as half full..and look up the law of attraction..start thinking positive and positive things will be drawn to you!
you are not alone. think about the people who have it worse than you.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Here is a great site and gives you something positive to work on right away.
Try going to website: http://www.viacharacter.org. You can take a free survey there.. it will tell you your natural strengths. Then, on that same site, go to the tab “practices” and then “exercises” and follow the exercises for your particular strengths.
I agree about the online social networking. See article, http://digg.com/d1uNPU.
I highly recommend these books: ‘Curious?’ by Todd Kashdan, ‘Freeing Your Child From Optomistic Thinking’ by Tamar Chansky (even though the market for this book is parents, it contains a lot of useful info). and Hapiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth by Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener.
One of my kids is 19 and 2nd year of college too.
My best to you,
Marjie