/n/ - NEET

I have pretty bad social anxiety. So bad that I no longer have any friends, it made me drop out of school and going to crowded places gives me panic attacks.

I honestly don't know what to tell you. It's something that can only be fixed by addressing the underlying cause, and maybe with medication. So if it's so bad it impairs your ability to function, seek professional help.

Something that I found helps is focusing on things outside your head. Kind of actively narrating everything you see, like you were a radio host or a sports caster. "Hey, I am passing this building. It's 5 floors tall and its' windows have a pretty intricate wooden lining. There are two windows on the second floor that have nearly identical curtains" so on and so forth. This helps with obsessive thoughts in general. The last time I had suicidal thoughts I made myself feel cold so I could focus on the cold until it passed.

>>13095
>Something that I found helps is focusing on things outside your head. Kind of actively narrating everything you see, like you were a radio host or a sports caster. "Hey, I am passing this building. It's 5 floors tall and its' windows have a pretty intricate wooden lining.
I'm not sure this will work for me at all. It will feel like i've totally lost my mind.

>>13105
The trick is not thinking about what you feel at all. If you come back to your head and think "oh god why am I feeling this way, what the fuck am I doing" it's definitely not going to work.

Secondly - there is nothing wrong with admitting that you are a bit mad. Some wiring in your head is off. No big deal. It's all about how you handle it.

I remembered a couple other things my psychologist told me about anxiety, that might be useful to you. First of all, the reason it's happening is because your sympathetic system is misfiring. One way to fix it is, get into a situation or place that is uncomfortable to you [ex: go to a mall] and stay there for at least 40 minutes. Agonizing, I know. There is an "adaptation" period that you have to go through, and in that time, your primitive brain realizes that isn't not in danger and the feeling goes away. The more often you repeat and stay through the adaptation period, the lower your anxiety is the next time you are in the same situation.

Breathing exercises can work as a quick fix, too. Breathing in deeply, counting to 5, then breathing out and counting to 5 again is what I do.

>>13084
>>13095
Something I learned in DBT therapy, which will undoubtedly help you, is that you should observe your feeling and tell yourself "I am feeling depressed/anxious". This reduces these strong and difficult emotions a little, and over time, with practice, you may manage to bring them to an acceptable level. I suggest you look at Dialectical Behavior Therapy, speak with a therapist, and most importantly don't stop going to public places. Exposure is very important.
Good luck anon. I'm cheering from you, from this other side of the ineternet!

>How are you dealing with it?
I'm not (not very well, anyway). Personally, I have trouble even making a phone call. It's ruined a lot of potential friendships (or at least chances at human interaction) for me, both within and outside of my family. While I can't claim my family quite "hates" me, it certainly has alienated me from them and prevented me from doing a lot of things on my own.

The only times I've ever "satisfactorily" handled a social situation were times when I was able to convince myself that what was happening wasn't actually happening, that I wasn't actually there, and that the people and things around me weren't real—as if I was dreaming, and nothing bad that happened would matter because I would eventually wake up safe in my bed.

It's not easy to do and I'm not sure it's a very healthy solution, but you could try it.