posted May 31, 2004 02:47 PM         

Avoid avoidance! Staying away from frightening situations makes fear worse.
Encourage people to observe their fear rather than respond to it. Give them something to do.
Fear disorders sometimes get people out of doing things they don’t want to do. This is a side effect, not the main purpose. If you do not acknowledge that fear is real and extremely painful, explosive people will have to get worse to prove it.

Refrain from pointing out the obvious benefits of being sick. Do not accommodate fear; Help people face it, one small step at a time. Reward even the smallest acts of courage.

Hang in there! Sometimes the greatest kindnesses are perceived as cruelty. Always remember that the only way out of fear is through it.

Help terrified people realize that, though their fear is real, the danger it signals is not.
The overall goal of psychotherapy is to foster internal control of fear. External control may be a necessary precursor, but it is the beginning, not the end. Medications sometimes help, but they should be the kind that augment internal control (anti-depressants, like Prozac, Paxil, Wellbutrin) not the kind that directly alleviate the symptoms of fear ( Alcohol, Valium, Xanax, Klonopin) Avoiding the situations in which fear occurs may help in the short run, but can quickly become more dangerous than fear.

Fearful people are encouraged to examine their fear rather than merely reacting to it.
Once people understand what fear is, the next step is showing them that, through their actions, they can exert some control over it.

What you feel is determined by what you say to yourself inside your head.
Fear disorders often develop in people who have difficulty asking for what they do want and saying no to what they don’t want. Sometimes they let their illnesses speak for them when they should be speaking for themselves. When they do speak up, it can cause emotional explosions in the people around them, who wonder why they’re not as compliant as they used to be. It helps to have significant others involved in this phase of treatment.

posted June 09, 2004 01:09 PM         

older ones are
Paxil
Zyprexia. (sp)

They may take a while to absorb into the system be patient and do a lot of deep breathing. Breath in through your nose, and on the exhale through your mouth say to yourself "relax, or what ever affirmation works for you). you may want to take a medication for a while so your thought process has a chance to look at situations in a less anxious way. After you feel you understand why the anxiety occurs, you may not need the meds. Again, TALK TO A DR.
Best luck!

posted August 03, 2005 03:57 AM         

Libra Sparkle......you are a strong woman and I totally identify with your refusal to take the same road as your parents. Same with me, except my Dad did meds.......God bless them, they did what they had to.........thank life, for some of us, there is another way........our parents can be our best teachers.

Thankyou for putting up this thread, am sure it will help many.........and if I can help anyone in anyway, please ask. Despite what the doctors say, there is another way.

God bless

posted August 03, 2005 05:22 AM         

I guess I've always just called it shyness, but now I realize calling shyness just gives me an excuse to keep being that way. There have been a few times in my life where I have really come out of my shell and "forgot" about being shy...those times I was forced to be around people and interact with them constantly. I guess it was like sink or swim, so I chose to swim. So that makes sense to me that facing your fear head on would be a good way to overcome it. Afterall, doesn't fear come from anticipating the unknown?

posted August 04, 2005 12:46 AM         

quote:

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I have a serious social anxiety disorder that I'm getting really sick of dealing with.

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Me too, although mine is getting better, slowly but surely.

I hardly ever visit, but this board can be a great place for support ~ http://www.socialanxietysupport.com

Social Anxiety Institute:
http://socialanxietyinstitute.org/

Anxiety Busters ~ http://www.anxietybusters.com has also been highly recommended for different anxiety/panic disorders.