Social Anxiety, Need some advice.

[philip341]

So I'm in my second year of biology right now and I learned a few days ago that a class I'll be taking involves lot's of group work and presentations. The problem is that I have a severe social anxiety disorder and really cannot do presentations at all. Group work is okay, when I'm interacting with just a few people it's not too hard. In high school all my presentations were done just in front of the teacher and no one else. I emailed the prof yesterday to tell her about my problems and she told me to come see her first thing monday morning to talk about it. My biggest worry is that she says I have to do them like everyone else, and I won't know what to do in that case. The course is required for my program, so I can't just drop it. I'm currently not seeing anyone for my anxiety or taking anything.

[elena255]

Hey, like mammo adviced you, there's ways to get help for you social anxiety. I've suffered from social anxiety for years and I didn't want to do any presentations at school at all coz I would start to shake and sweat and my face would be all red. The a doctor gave me propranolol which is a safe med (doesn't have any bad side effects) that aliviates all the symptoms. When I have a presentation I take one pill in the morning and then another pill half an hour before the presentation, that way I don't shake nor sweat nor my face gets red. That in a way gives me so much confidence and I can control the anxiety. Before I used to take more propranol but nowadays a lot less since I've gained so much confidence that there are less situations where I become nervous and anxious. The thing is that you can't always avoid the presentations or other similar events, in work life you'll have to speak in public. So instead of avoiding the situations look for help and that way you can control the anxiety. Good luck!

[mammo]

Hi......you really should get into therapy for your social anxiety, there's so much help for you!  But don't jump the gun on this, your professor may be willing to work with you in a way that you can do your presentation to her.  If not, see your doctor, there is a medication that many public speakers are given just prior to speaking that calms their anxiety for a few hours...It's called Inderal or the generic is Propanolol.  I really think if your professor was going to tell you that you had to do them anyway, she wouldn't have asked you to see her first thing Monday.  You still need to seek help with your anxiety for future issues.  Often therapy is all you need, or maybe just a medication you can take just prior to doing a presentation.  I think this can be worked out with your professor, as it is a medical condition.  Good luck and I hope this helps.