Posted by MrSandman on April 16, 2004, at 4:03:43
In reply to Re: Need advice on getting out of social isolation » Racer, posted by tinydancer on April 15, 2004, at 6:11:53
You mention drug abuse in the past tense. Congratulations for realizing that is a dead end street.
But I did notice your drugs of choice were stimulants. Does this suggest a
broader problem with apathy, fatigue, and depression?When I was your age I had the same sense of profound social disconnection. I was fairly involved-busy, anyway- with school activities but deep down felt pretty apathetic about most everything, aside from sad songs. I wasn't afraid to talk to people, just didn't seem to care about cars, music, the future, or whatever they were talking about. And I stayed tired, too. It was hard to have a social life when I could barely get out of bed on the weekends. It's clear to me now that my loneliness was a symptom of depression that in turn deepened the depression.
On the other hand, a lot of shy people want to join conversations and have things they want to say, but they fear rejection- more of an anxiety/social phobia thing. Depression and social phobia are not mutually exclusive, but determining which came first and which is predominant now might help you address your problem more effectively.
Meanwhile, Racer's advice is excellent . I've seen a lot of shy people lose their inhibition when talking about something that gives them great pleasure or that they truly believe in.
poster:MrSandman
thread:336405
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040409/msgs/336819.html