Question:
Hi Bee, Yes I really do feel it is all rolled into ptsd.I also am a shy person by nature(painfully). I suffer the same social anxiety.It comes and goes funnily enough with people I know quite well but in situations where I am a newcomer it is a major problem.<sigh> What do I do.? I tend to withdraw/isolate in order to feel safe again.Not always possible tho. helski
Response:
Bee wrote: > I have been wondering for awhile if it’s very common with PTSD to have an > extremely hard time socializing, or if I may have some separate "social anxiety > disorder". I’ve always been known as a shy, quiet person. But once I get to > know people and am comfortable, I’m very talkative and much more open and > outgoing. But I have a really hard time meeting new people and functioning at > social events like parties, showers, church groups where I don’t know the > people on a familiar and comfortable level, etc. > What do you guys think… is this common with PTSD? > Bee
I’d say it is, Bee. Safety translates differently for all of us, I think. Although it isn’t particularly a problem I’ve had, providing I’m doing well that day overall. Gatherings are an opportunity to get the protection of being anonymous in a crowd. Talking and laughing in a crowd I feel like I fit in, I don’t appear weak and vulnerable to an attacker. I’ve never relied on someone else to protect me, so isolating myself in those situation isn’t good for me. In the past, I would avoid those situations if I knew I was going to appear vulnerable.
Response:
Bee, When I was finally diagnosed with PTSD and the DSMIV criteria was read to me, I was actually relieved because all the different problems I thought I had were suddenly all part of the same disorder. Social anxiety was definitely one of them and I find it is getting worse since I stopped working. I can be around people for a short period of time and then feel a strong draw back to my home like a bungie cord was attached – where I can be alone and, perhaps, safer. I even have a hard time staying around people I know, including family. Have no fear. You are not alone. Actually, I help moderate a chat room every night for people with anxiety and panic disorders and the people I chat to there are the best social activity I have had in a long time. .. —- Disclaimer: The foregoing was an opinion and discussion of personal experiences mixed with common sense. I am not a doctor, a social worker, a psychiatrist or god. 
In article <20010115235715.19442.00000…@ng-mb1.aol.com>, quiet…@aol.com (Bee) wrote: > I have been wondering for awhile if it’s very common with PTSD to have an > extremely hard time socializing, or if I may have some
separate "social anxiety – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> disorder". I’ve always been known as a shy, quiet person. But once I get to > know people and am comfortable, I’m very talkative and much more open and > outgoing. But I have a really hard time meeting new people and functioning at > social events like parties, showers, church groups where I don’t know the > people on a familiar and comfortable level, etc. > What do you guys think… is this common with PTSD? > Bee > Diary of a Hushed Child > http://members.aol.com/hushedchild
– .. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Response:
I have been wondering for awhile if it’s very common with PTSD to have an extremely hard time socializing, or if I may have some separate "social anxiety disorder". I’ve always been known as a shy, quiet person. But once I get to know people and am comfortable, I’m very talkative and much more open and outgoing. But I have a really hard time meeting new people and functioning at social events like parties, showers, church groups where I don’t know the people on a familiar and comfortable level, etc. What do you guys think… is this common with PTSD? Bee Diary of a Hushed Child http://members.aol.com/hushedchild
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