Social Anxiety- Overcoming it?

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Seeing as there is like 500 million threads on Social Anxiety Disorder and Autism on WP I'm going to be sensible and start a new one.

Has anyone here once suffered from SAD and no longer fear social interactions, or at least managed it?

Yes... to an extent. I might still avoid setting up an appointment on occasion and I do sometimes walk away from important interactions feeling like I'm drenched in sweat, but it's manageable now.

I'd recommend a composite approach consisting of professional treatment, reading, discussion, and any tips or tricks that turn out to be useful pertaining to controlling thoughts, remaining in the present, and de-stressing and perspective-taking after socializing. Improving self-esteem, general health, and support networks helps, too.

Yes, mostly. I still occasionally have bad days when things seem overwhelming, and I occasionally have moments when the anxiety gets the best of me (like earlier today when I freaked out over talking on the phone ), but I am mostly recovered! The bad moments simply serve to remind me how bad things used to be and make me infinitely grateful to have left that time of my life (mostly) behind me (many thanks to my psychologist )

I agree with what downbutnotout said.

I don't think I can really say I had SAD, but there was a time in my life, around the age of nine or ten, when I was just beginning to realize that I was socially awkward and prone to embarrassing myself, and tried to be "one of the girls" because that seemed to be expected.

I would befriend the new students no one else would approach and hope for friends, but then they would join the larger cliques of girls and leave me behind. Somehow I never got angry at them, just disappointed.

But all of that turned out to be a phase. By twelve years old I had decided I wanted to be myself, that I wasn't going to try to be "one of the girls" anymore. That was also the year I made my first successful social contacts, with girls who I helped with homework. It wasn't quite a friendship--that didn't come until college; I just didn't have the ability yet at that age--but it's funny that only once I stopped caring what people thought of me, was I able to form social bonds that didn't intimidate me or dissolve in a very short time.

I usd to have severe social anxiety and I have doing pretty darn good now. How? I realized the main reason few people wanted to be around me/rejected me was because I was constantly beating myself up due to the bullying I received as a child. Once I started learning to 're-write' this programming, people starting approaching me and being friendly towards me. As a result, my SA has dropped (but not disappeared) significantly.

I had a belief that everyone was against me but I realize that was a false belief I picked up to survive my childhood attacks. As an adult, it brought me nothing but anxiety and isolation.

· Schizoaffective disorder?
· Seasonal affective disorder?
· Separation anxiety disorder?
· Sexual arousal disorder?
· Social anxiety disorder?

Yes, social anxiety can be resolved for semi-specific categories of social situations.
Which much is better than solving them individually.
Resolutions can even be made "instinctive."

About SAD, I dunno.

Ive had bad social anxiety since I was a child and no therapies or medications have helped.

However Ive recently got into fasting (not eating) and that REALLY helps!

If I had a horrible social appointment or visit if I dont eat for the day before and that day and I feel really calm and serene and dont care, its great!

Previously I would have been plagued by intrusive thoughts and felt terrible during the app and then felt sick afterward and spent all night beating myself up and replaying it and ruminating on it but now with not eating Im calm and dont care and dont think about it, no worries.

its been a life changer for me so well worth an experiment into.

For me it was a case of practice in a non-judgmental group for people who had suffered from or were suffering from social anxiety. We meet every two weeks to socialize and catch up. The first two months were very challenging for me - I was terrified of saying the wrong thing, being rejected, talking too much, my hands used to shake and a few times I cried. But no-one thought less of me for that and the support, acceptance and validation I was offered was terrific. People pointed out my strengths and the value that I brought to the group. So I learned to trust that I was in a safe place and then I began to heal and blossom. My Meet Up group for Social Anxiety has had the effect of helping me face my fears and move past them to a place of peace and social confidence. It really helped that all of the others had walked in my shoes at some stage themselves, some still do, and I never had to explain anything - they just understood and offered me friendship and companionship. It's been life changing. I am now able to socialize in other venues too without being swamped by anxiety. The group basically helped desensitize me from fears that had grown out of all proportion due to past adverse experiences. I am soooo grateful to the group for this recovery.