Hello Hetty. Welcome to DS. Sorry for what brings you here but glad you are here.

You are already using one of my most used coping strategies with this very post. Getting my anxieties into words and sharing those words in a safe and supportive environment goes a long way toward managing my anxiety. DS is one of my safe places, but this particular forum might be a little too safe. It is not a very active forum, but DS is a big website with quite allot of more active forums. Lately I've been spending most of my DS time in the "Anxiety" forum, but there are plenty of others. I hope you'll take the time to surf around and see what other flavors are available.

Welcome aboard.

Hi Hetty,

Therapy can help, have you tried to do any therapy?

There are also anti-anxiety medications that you could take. See a psychiatrist for help with that, they know more about anxiety medications than a regular doctor.

There is help out there. You are not alone.

I asked my psychiatrist about which medications help with social anxiety.

Paxil works very well. It will take about 4-6 weeks to start working. Effexor and Zoloft are close seconds.

If you need immediate anxiety relief, the Benzos, such as Xanax, Valium, Ativan.... they start to work in 15-20 minutes, and last for over 4 hours.

There are medications out there that will pretty much take away social anxiety. Since you did mention trauma, then medication plus trauma therapy could really help you a lot.

Until then, there are books about this, that can be helpful. And meet up groups and community colleges that have toastmasters and debate clubs, etc. When you are ready to test out some new skills.

I hope you seek some help. You don't have to live like this. You are not alone! And, we are here if you ever want to write about stuff.

Thank you for your suggestions I am currently taking medication but my dose is currently quite low as I have come down from I higher dose I have tried cognitive therapy but feel it is not long enough to make a massive difference. I have some books about anxiety but sometimes get overwhelmed by all the information

I went through a period of panic when I was on public transport or in situations where I didn't feel I could easily leave (like an airplane). I have found that distracting the thoughts is my best way to manage the situation. For instance I am the person on the plane who chats with fellow passengers about anything (usually I get the hint to leave them alone). I use visualisation where I see myself in a situation that has been comforting and peaceful (most often a vacation experience). I engage in positive self talk - remind myself that my worst fear has not happened, reminders of situations that I managed well, etc.. I do planning for situations where I anticipate I might have difficulties - schedule a stop off on public transit (to relax), sit in a part of an airplane cabin that I like, etc..

I occasionally get some heightened anxiety but as I manage the situations better over time I get more confident that I can manage.