Hello. I feel guilty posting here because I am not clinically depressed. I am just painfully shy.
Hello, Aegis, & "welcome aboard"! Seeing you here has brightened my day & I like you already! I mean, look at how sweet & polite your post is, what's not to like?!? I mean Really!
I'm guessing that you're young, but not sure why, since I don't even have a good track record for guessing whether someone is male or female on this brd.
"Painfully shy" are the very words I use to describe myself as a child. I wish I could have retained some of that shyness, as I now have a tendency to talk too much.
Do you mind telling us how old you are? Also, I'm sure everybody is going to want to know if you feel that your shyness is hurting you socially? Looking forward to hearing back from you. Fox
Hello. Thanks for the reply. Yes, my shyness has hurt me socially. I am basically a hermit. I know this is the reason that I feel depressed. But I can't seem to find the courage to leave my bedroom. By the way, I am a 23-year-old male.
Hello. Thanks for the reply. Yes, my shyness has hurt me socially. I am basically a hermit. I know this is the reason that I feel depressed. But I can't seem to find the courage to leave my bedroom. By the way, I am a 23-year-old male.
Look into doing some CBT. This will help with those negative thoughts your "inventing" which have no basis on fact or reality.
Even if your more hideous than a circus side-show freak, SO WHAT?
Certainly, if you go dancing on cars stopped at traffic lights, or punching people wearing a red article of clothing, then I would recommend you get therapy first, but otherwise your reasons for not going out are in your own mind. You have invented them, and you are being your own worst enemy.
Go for a walk. Set out to purchase something different maybe, like a non-wheat bread, smelly cheese, or a T-shirt. You don't have to buy, just look. If your compulsive or, like me, easily pushed into buying something, don't take any money. This is no where near a cure, but it's a step in the right direction.
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Mr designer, if your fashion is so good, why do you need expensive models?
First of all let me say hi and welcome to the board. There is no reason for you to apologize for posting here, this is a general depression board not restricted to clinical depression.
I can relate with your situation Aegis. I too used to be extremely shy to the point that I would not go outside if it was not necessary. Breaking out of my shyness was a very difficult process but the rewards are well worth it. The funny thing is now that I am free of my shyness I find that I still enjoy spending more time alone than I do with others. The difference now is that I actually feel comfortable when I am with others and I am able to enjoy that time. I took the hard route to breaking my shyness. I trained to become a missionary for my church so I was put into a position where I had no choice but to meet new people every day and talk to them. It took me a while to open up but slowly I began to learn that there was no reason for me to be shy around people. For the most part the people that let us talk to them were friendly and readily accepted me. The more positive experiences you have around people the easier it will be to relax. I would strongly suggest that you get involved in local service projects. The reason I say this is that almost always when people get together to perform service a sort of bond forms with the group and they automatically trust and accept the other members of the project to a degree. I have only had good social experiences when doing service projects. The other advantage to doing service projects is that it gives you a sense of self worth that from your post I believe you could use. It's hard not to feel good about yourself when you're performing a selfless act for someone else. As you gain self confidence and have good social experiences your shyness should subside.
Hello. Thanks for the reply. Yes, my shyness has hurt me socially. I am basically a hermit. I know this is the reason that I feel depressed. But I can't seem to find the courage to leave my bedroom. By the way, I am a 23-year-old male.
So you're a 23 yr old male, huh? Thanks for keeping my poor track record of "guessing the wrong sex of posters" firmly intact!
I'm sorry to hear that you're suffering from more than just shyness. We can frequently outgrow shyness. Please see your GP for help. It sounds to me like you have a heavy dose of depression and/or social anxiety, however, I'm not a doc. We often need to "define the enemy within" in order to know how to fight it. And you will need to fight it, but the quality of life you deserve is certainly worth fighting for. Don't you agree? Good luck and keep posting! Fox
hi aegis and welcome
Cbt has really helped me and I had panic disorder in addition to being depressed. I like some of the other suggestions like antareswish's. Building your self confidence is real important.
