Do any of you suffer with it?

I have social anxiety and find this really affects my life and means I'm alone and bored quite often indoors which helps bring on the binge eating (and more than often makes me feel a bit low)

I have several different forms of anxiety disorders (at various points, I've been diagnosed as having PTSD, General Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder...). I don't respond well to most medications, so I'm mostly on my own to manage it.

For me, improving my diet and exercising was INSTRUMENTAL in getting my anxiety under control. It's almost like the anxiety is an excess of energy...nervous energy, if you will...and the exercise burns off that excess. So if you're not on a regular exercise program, even one inside your home, you might want to start...it can really help.

I do still struggle, a lot sometimes, but am so much better than I'd be without the exercise. You might consider it!

Your thoughts control your feelings which control your actions.

I have had reoccuring and crippling social phobia for the same amount of time that I gained the weight. I do not think this was an coincidence. Recently, I went through a period of isolating myself from 2004-2007. I still am not as socially involved as I probably need to be. Part of this stemmed from moving across country and going into a 10 month moderate depression. Part of it stems from the anxiety of moving from a small 20,000 pop town to a 4 million pop metropolitan area. However, going through an unusually long and extensive period of joint inflammation with my arthritis also contributed to just not "feeling well" enough to be social. I am also very shy so that doesn't help.

I agree with Mandalinn82. You can do quite a bit by yourself without medication or therapy. In the past, I tried both with mixed results. I am not on medication now by choice. I feel I have talked this subject to death with different therapists so I have ceased doing that. However, if you choose to go those routes, do not feel you have "failed" on your own. I agree that exercise helps control anxiety. In fact, when I start feeling anxious I immediately ask myself, do you need to move around? Burn some of that off?

I have learned that the source for mine is separation anxiety. I really grieved moving. I am here with my DH. We have no family here. It has taken us almost four years but we have learned that holidays are very quiet now with just the two of us. We have some friends but I will admit that I have turned down social invitations for the above reasons. I realize that part of the continuing anxiety I feel is because of choices that I make. I work from home and some would argue that also adds to the isolation but I have found it to be a "blessing" since I have days when it is difficult for me to move around.

It took me almost 4 years to overcome that but now I am "ready" to start to move out in this community which I live in and meet people. Actually, what has helped me is losing weight which has strengthened my self-esteem. I think it makes me "allow" others to approach me too.

So, I hope that you will continue to search for what works for you. You can live nearly anxiety-free. It does take learning more about yourself and what triggers it then developing a personal strategy that will work for you.

Good luck and thanks for sharing

I too suffer with social anxiety. Thanks for those suggestions!

Yup! Actually it was, Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety... I am on medication and that is part of the key to what I needed...the other parts were yoga, meditation, exercise (I had been doing that...) and healthier eating. None of these have been a magic bullet and I have found that I need not one or two of these things but ALL of them to make it work, which makes it a little time consuming sometimes... Do what you can...even if it is just one small thing...build on it...let it grow and gain momentum...

I have a bit of social anxiety as well.

It kind of comes and goes...I'll be feeling perfectly find hanging out with a large group of people and then all of a sudden I feel anxious and uncomfortable and need to leave.

I also have to FORCE myself to not hang around my apartment all day, to sit in the back of my classes and take the route to campus that is not the most back roady. I think normal social activities are harder for me then they are for most people. I've just accepted that it comes harder for me and try to do the best I can.

Catherine, You sound alot like me regarding the anxiety. I do go to college but I tend to hide away when I get there and I'm quite often fine around people, I think it's more the thought that scares me. But it's really amazing just how common anxiety is..

I just thought I'd poke my head in here and say that anxiety is curable! When I was diagnosed with major depression and went on Zoloft my first year of college, the meds and therapy started to whittle away at the depression. What I found underneath it was anxiety. As I started to care about the world around me again, I cared too much! I started having panic attacks and flashbacks to abuse earlier in my life. I had to leave school and recover at home for a few months before finishing my classes on my own and taking the finals in the safety of my living room. Fortunately my school was very supportive, and after a summer of intense therapy I managed to go back to school and succeed there.

But anxiety is just awful. I had a lot of success with Zoloft (though I'm now on a larger dose than I was then!), so don't feel like you're giving up if you decide to go on meds. Zoloft quite literally saved my life.

I'm just starting on this path of self discovery. I am learning things about myself that I never quite put into words. Reading about anxiety, and the way you all describe it, really defines the way I've been feeling for years. It's comforting to know that others suffer, but it's so isolating that it does't provide much comfort. Thanks for sharing everyone! It helps those that aren't even "looking" for it.

Rocker, although it's comforting to know you're not alone I really reccomend 'seeing' somebody. I've found that after feeling uncomfortable around other people for most of my life the only thing that really began to help me was therapy and understanding why I felt this way and how my brain patterns it out.

I think even without an overnight cure you can quite easily stamp on the anxiety and manage it rather than let it control you.

I to suffer from panic disorder, ptsd, social phobia, and general anxiety disorder. Life is tough, I aslo have rheumatoid arthritis and iam only 31. I Gained a pile of weight from zoloft & prednesone, I feel out of control & need to do something now, so i joined here....

Yes i am also a suffer of anxiety unforuantly mine causes me to pretty much become a complete recluse for the last three years and live in my bedroom , i don't like going out in case of panic attacks and i don't like going out due to always feeling uncomftable . Thank you for some of the helpful suggestions posted

make love i can really relate, i did used to live in my room. Do you get any form of support?

Spoz, I am seeing a therapist, well just started for marriage counseling. I haven't even brought this up. I've completely forgot that I posted here until I just read it. I will have to remember and mention it. I will say that on the days I work out I notice a tremendous difference in my moods and my general state of mind. But overall, I still feel a little freaked out to leave the house, especially (and I don't know why) if my hubby isn't with me. I have 4 kids so I have to leave alot...but the weekends are the hardest for me if hubby's working (like today). I'm about to get on my (sometimes dreaded) treadmill and work off some of that extra anxiety.

I recently found this forum and I think it is wonderful! I've suffered from anxiety all of my life and dealt with it with alcohol (until I got sober 20 years ago) and then drugs and therapy. I stopped taking Prozac a few months ago after being on it eight years (this time around) for various reasons and now I'm trying to learn to cope by using tools I'm learning about in places like this.

In the last week or two I have had several mild anxiety attacks. My heart starts beating furiously and I think scary thoughts such as my husband dying (abandonment issues I think). They usually come just as I'm falling asleep. I got one this morning and I did something revolutionary for me: I exercised! I felt better before I even started. I'm learning there is a power in my intent that kicks in while I'm still putting my work out shoes on.

I hoped there might be a thread here dealing with anxiety so I checked and here you are! Thank you so much for being here. I wish the best for everyone.