Newbie from Oz

[bee bee]

Hi there!

I am a newbie from Oz, thought I would introduce myself and give you a summary of me and my phobia.

I have never been diagnosed as such but I know that I am a sufferer of social phobia, anxiety and panic attacks. This has been my whole life although in recent years it seems to be at its worst!

I woke up one day recently and decided that I didn't want social phobia to define who I am anymore, because that is what I felt like all I was, my anxiety, panic attacks and social phobia and nothing else. I don't know why I have not tried to seek help or to start researching and trying to make myself better sooner, but better late than never, so here I am trying to learn more and gain support from others in similar situations.

I was sick of changing jobs so often, not because I was useless but because I had to leave because people thought I was shy, nervous, stupid, weird, this was my perception of what they thought not theirs mind you! Working in jobs that I didn't like and didn't challenge me because I was so scared of failing and taking on more responsiblity and that would mean dealing with more people, faking illnesses to get out of a social event at work, family even meeting up with close friends with other people around that I didn't know weeks in advance, getting up feeling sick about seeing and dealing with people at work, going home and thinking about the next day at work, vicious cycle! What's strange is that I actually like people and can sometimes be very social around people I am 100% comfortable with (there are times I still get nervous even around close friends and family) so it is incredibly frustrating having this phobia with people that I don't know! Does that make sense, it is getting late!

Anyhow that's me in a nutshell, wish me luck on my journey of gaining self esteem, confidence and a real sense of self, blah blah ;-)

Take care, Bee Bee

[dino]

DEAR BEE BEE
A WARM WELCOME TO THE FORUM ,I MYSELF SUFFER FROM AGORAPHOBIA ANXIETY AND PANIC ,YOU ARE NOT ALONE WITH YOUR PHOBIA AS YE WILL SEE FROM ALL THE POSTS ON HERE
HOPEFULLY WE CAN ALL BE OF SOME HELP TO YOU EITHER ON HERE OR IN THE CHATROOM
LOVE DIANE (dino)
XXXXXXXXXXXX

[petal]

Dear Bee Bee



Welcome to the forum from another girl from Oz

Pleased to meet you and good for you about getting to the stage where you've decided to do something about your anxiety in social situations.

Social anxiety is very treatable. As you're from Oz, I might be able to help you find a program to treat your social anxiety as I live in Australia too and have had problems with social anxiety although my main concern is generalised anxiety disorder.

I'm in Sydney. Let me know what part of Australia you are from and I might be able to help you find a program to treat your social anxiety as I've attended programs here to treat anxiety (at a low cost). You're lucky as social anxiety, as I mentioned before, is very treatable.

Hoping to hear from you again soon
Petal

PS: It's nice to know there is a newbie on the block from Australia .

[Gord]

<span style='color:red'>Hi, Bee Bee</span>

<span style='color:blue'>Nice to meet you in chat yesterday and great to have you join our lovely and loving community.

Here you'll be with people who know and understand how you too feel, and best of all who care.

Deciding to join us is one small step for a computer user. One giant leap for Bee Bee! All the best.

Love</span>


<span style='color:red'>Gord</span>
<span style='color:green'>xxxxx</span>

[bee bee]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

I live in Canberra at the moment although am moving back to Sydney in April next year. There is a support group here in Canberra for anxiety sufferers but being a sufferer of social anxiety, this terrifies the living hell out of me sitting in a group and possibly being the centre of attention when I have to talk so will most likely stick to the net, library etc for resources until I move to Sydney.

But your help and any info you can give me in Sydney would be most appreciative, a concern was how much money it was going to cost me to get treatment although saying that it shouldn't really matter if I get better.

Thanks, B

[angie]

HELLO BEE BEE,
SORRY I'VE NOT WELCOMED YOU SOONER.
ANGIE

[petal]

Dear Bee Bee

Nice to hear from you again. I can make a couple of suggestions as to where you can seek professional help in Sydney for when you return early next year.

First of all there is the Adult Anxiety Clinic at Macquarie University. They offer treatment programs (small group for a low cost or individual sessions which are more expensive) for different kinds of anxiety including social anxiety. They can be contacted on 02 9850 8711 or you can read about what they offer at http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/MUARU/adult/social_anxiety.htm

I have completed a small group program (6 participants I think) for generalised anxiety disorder at the Adult Anxiety Clinic and it was EXCELLENT.

Then there is the Psychology Clinic at the University of Sydney and I think they offer both group and individual sessions for the treatment of social anxiety run by intern clinical psychologists under supervision. The cost is low (sliding scale according to your income). You can read about the Sydney University Psychology Clinic at www.psych.usyd.edu.au/clinicalpsychology or telephone them on 02 9351 2629.

Both universities offer this treatment of social anxiety to the wider community. You don't have to be a uni student to attend either clinic. Both clinics offer cutting edge treatment for anxiety at lower costs than seeing a therapist privately. I think they are a good place to look for treatment.

I don't know what's on offer in Canberra but it might be worthwhile, as you're in Canberra for quite a few months before you return to Sydney, to check out if the Australian National University (ANU) or University of Canberra offer anxiety treatment programs through their psychology clinics. It's quite possible they might (especially the ANU).

I know you are concerned about the cost of treatment for your social anxiety so I reckon that treatment at a uni psychology/anxiety clinic is the way to go.

Also, if you have private health insurance that covers for 'extras', you can claim the cost of the assessment/program on your private health insurance (but it would be best to check with the clinic first).

I hope you find this information helpful. I'm always on the look-out for treatment options for my anxiety and I'm very pleased I've come across these programs offered at the two unis in Sydney. I start a treatment program for my generalised anxiety disorder at the University of Sydney this week.

Your concern about joining a small group for treatment of your social anxiety when you expect that this itself (the group setting) will cause you anxiety is valid. Might I suggest that you raise your concerns about joining a group, and the difficulty this poses for you, if and when you contact the clinic and see what they have to say? I'm sure other people suffering social anxiety have raised the same issue when enquiring about treatment options at the clinic/s. Of course there is individual treatment but this will cost more.

Let me know if you'd like any further information. I'm happy to share any information I have with you.

Wishing you all the best
Petal