How I got over my social anxiety without using medical drugs

I KNOW THERE IS ALREADY A POST IN THIS FORUM ABOUT
ME PLANNING TO TEMPORARILY START USING VALIUM,
BUT THIS IS NOT ANXIETY RELATED IT IS FOR A PHYSICAL PROBLEM
UNRELATED TO ANXIETY.
I PUT THAT QUESTION IN THIS FORUM BECAUSE I KNOW MANY
PEOPLE USE VALIUM FOR ANXIETY.

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I used to have social phobia for a long time
and now I no longer have problems with it.

I never taken benzo's or other medication to combat it
because I believe the cause for social phobia is mental.

My problem was that I cared about what other people think of me.
Are my clothes ok?
Does my face look normal?
Do i act normal?

How high I valued myself depended on how high other people valued me.
When i used to walk outside, i often felt as if everybody was looking at me... and this made things even worse.

The thing that helped me was to stop letting my self value depend on what other people think of me.
No matter who you are, there is always people who look down on you for one reason or another.

I have managed to get to the point of not wanting to be accepted by other people.
If other people don't like me, then that's a pity because I think that we're all brothers and sisters who should get along as one family... but i will no longer make myself feel inferior,
even if the whole world would look down on me.

I must admit that learning to be meditative has helped me reach this stage,
because as (socially) anxious people know out of nowhere the anxiety is suddenly there
and even though you logically understand that you shouldn't be anxious,
you still can't get yourself to get rid of the fear.

Being meditative learned me how to cope with that feeling of fear...
Ocasionally it would still pop up inside my heart and mind (because i have been socially anxious for years, these patterns are rooted very deep in the mind)
but instead of letting it take control over myself like i used to...
I now take control over myself.

All the paranoid and fearfull thoughts that are linked with the feeling of anxiety,
I don't give attention to any of them... and because i dont give them food.. they can't take control over me... And so i become confident.

The kind of meditation i prefer over all others i have yet encountered is explained in the book "I am that" by Nisargadatta,
although many people will probably prefer a less mystical approach.

To them i would recommend to look into either Vipassana, Zen meditation or mindfullness.


I have read that "Emotional Freedom Technique" seems to be very good as well.
It is a western approach based on meditation, although it's not exactly meditation.

Good luck on your quest for the best suitable solution for you

[Michael691]

Hey, im sorry if this doesent help, but what are "Benzo's" and Valium?
Im almost 100% certain that I have Anxiety, and its painful, is there an age restriction for these medicines?


You have had anxiety for years, as you have stated in one of your posts.
I have only been like this for about a month or two now, and im finding it hard to cope, im only 13 aswell. What did you find helped you out the most?