Archive for the ‘Conquer Anxiety’ Category

Anxiety Update

Hey everyone! Thought I’d let you all know about something I just realized.

So I just graduated from college last week (HOORAY!) and my parents came up for the ceremony. Over dinner we got on the subject of my social anxiety. My mom mentioned that I tend to shy away from making eye contact (something she says I picked up from her). I’m considering making an amendment to my “Conquer Anxiety” goal to include eye-contact because I didn’t realize I was so bad at it and I think it’s important.

In any case, something else that came up was the question of whether I am “shy” or not. My step-father had mentioned offhandedly that I was still shy, but have come a long way, to which my dad responded: “Eric’s not shy.” He then referenced the many times that I would volunteer to speak in front of audiences, perform on stage, or sing in public. Read More…

May 26, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  No Comments

The Final Assessment

I apologize for not delving deeper into what’s been going on with me and my quest for an anxiety-free (or moderately anxiety-free) life. I admit that some of my posts have been vague, and my methods unclear. The main reason for this is that my methods have indeed been unclear (even to me!)

The process of recovery from an anxiety condition is a largely individual process. You can have allies, companions, and aids, but no one can really share your experience. No one can point you to exactly what you need to do to get better. It really depends on your own personal needs. That’s why there are so many different methods psychologists, psychiatrists, and self-help gurus promote: each one works for certain people and perhaps not for others. Read More…

May 5, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  No Comments

Road to Victory

It’s extremely important, when striving for a new goal, to take time to reflect on your progress. If you don’t, you’ll never be able to see just how far you’ve come.

Lately I’ve been working on speaking up, initiating and maintaining conversations. I’ve also been trying to send more invitations. Each of these has become a lot easier, almost effortless!

However, I’m still finding it difficult to do all of these things with complete strangers. I still want to work on initiating conversations strangers and inviting acquaintances to do things (in other words, making new friends). Ultimately, I am on the right track. Read More…

April 2, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  One Comment

Spring Break Reflection

As a result of my recent spring break excursions, I’m really starting to feel huge improvements on the social anxiety front. I’ve begun to realize after conversations with people how calm I’ve been. I haven’t freaked out when in uncomfortable situations and I haven’t felt the usual discomfort of not knowing what to say.

In terms of my anxiety goals, I already seemed to have knocked out 1) Speaking audibly and 3) Holding conversations. I have also noticed that I am more comfortable greeting people (though this is still a struggle), so I figure I can continue to focus on goal #2. Read More…

March 16, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  2 Comments

Anxiety Goals

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my social anxiety, and how it’s effected my quality of life. And in order to make the path to recovery more clear, I decided that it would be best to compile a list of specific things I wanted to work on.

As I mentioned in The Benefits of Introspection, it is helpful to identify all of the aspects of yourself you want to change and then work on them one at a time. Since social anxiety is a huge undertaking in and of itself, it makes sense to break it down further.

The following are the factors that I’ve decided to work on. Read More…

March 5, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  No Comments

The Benefits of Introspection

After discovering my social anxiety, I was floored because I’m not used to overlooking my flaws.

Which is not to say that I don’t have any flaws, it’s just that I’m usually hyper aware of all of my flaws. (Which is one of my flaws…)

And because I was so caught off guard by this discovery, my automatic response kicked in (my automatic response being, “How do I resolve this issue?”). It has been my nature to try to better myself. And though I am also a perfectionist, the goal was never to become “perfect.” Read More…

March 5, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  No Comments

What is Social Anxiety?

You may be wondering what I mean when I say I want to “conquer my anxiety.” What does he mean by anxiety? How does one conquer it? What does this have to do with finding a girlfriend?

That’s a whole lot of great questions, so I’ll answer them one at a time.

There are a whole lot of different anxiety disorders out there. As a matter of fact, I just wrote a new article about it: Coping with an Anxiety Disorder. You can find out more about the various types of disorders by reading the article. Read More…

February 21, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  No Comments

Goal Revision: Find a Life Partner

I’ve done a lot of thinking (and I mean a LOT) about this “Find a Life Partner” goal of mine and I’ve come to the conclusion that it needs to be reworked.

Yes, I want to enter a relationship, but I don’t want it to be forced. I haven’t exactly been trying to force anything at this point, but something about striving to find a “life partner” seems a bit insincere. I don’t want my companion (provided I actually succeed) to feel as though I am only getting with her because of my goal. If that were the case, I could probably just go to some bar or club somewhere and ask out every girl I see until one says yes.

I don’t want to resort to that. I am a Nice Guy after all. Read More…

February 17, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Conquer Anxiety  No Comments