I have social anxiety and generally have a hard time talking to people and holding a normal conversation with them. Though I'm working on improving that.

I get anxiety / panic attacks at times. Almost guaranteed one if i have to go somewhere or do something that makes me perceive myself being trapped or have no control of the situation. Examples are sitting in dentist chairs, being out in public. Being away from home. Having to go out for supper especially at someones house.

The supper one hits hard for me because I wasn't raised to eat at a table at a certain time with others. We always just made our own food and ate whenever we wanted. Most of my eating is done alone in my room when I'm at the computer.

When I eat at someone elses place I still have manners and all that so no problem there but just i feel nervous around others and I absolutely must sit at the end of the table or ill feel trapped. I also dont have any entertainment to eat to. Because of this i insist on smaller servings.

Socializing and being around people is very difficult in of itself for me.

@Lightingguy1994: I can definitely relate to those sorts of problems myself. I went through a phase where I had social anxiety problems while eating out with other people. I always wanted to sit at the end of the table for an easy getaway if I needed it. Crowded and noisy restaurants were even worse. Eventually that anxiety passed after I faced my fear over and over again and nothing bad happened. Same thing on airplanes. I always request an aisle seat so I don't feel trapped between another passenger and the wall. I feel better knowing I can get up easily if I need to go to the restroom or need to relocate myself.

Job interviews really bring out the worst in me. I feel physically tense and feel like I have to memorize everything I need to say before the interview starts. I'm convinced the interviewer will try to trip me up and intentionally humiliate me. I'm so self-conscious about wearing the right clothes, asking the right questions, accidentally saying/asking something inappropriate etc. I stutter or speak with no emotion to my voice and come across as too tense and serious.

@Lightingguy1994: I can definitely relate to those sorts of problems myself. I went through a phase where I had social anxiety problems while eating out with other people. I always wanted to sit at the end of the table for an easy getaway if I needed it. Crowded and noisy restaurants were even worse. Eventually that anxiety passed after I faced my fear over and over again and nothing bad happened. Same thing on airplanes. I always request an aisle seat so I don't feel trapped between another passenger and the wall. I feel better knowing I can get up easily if I need to go to the restroom or need to relocate myself.

Job interviews really bring out the worst in me. I feel physically tense and feel like I have to memorize everything I need to say before the interview starts. I'm convinced the interviewer will try to trip me up and intentionally humiliate me. I'm so self-conscious about wearing the right clothes, asking the right questions, accidentally saying/asking something inappropriate etc. I stutter or speak with no emotion to my voice and come across as too tense and serious.

Hi all, I would like to let you know that I have anxiety, OCD, and panic attacks. I am gradually accepting this as part of who I am and disclosing it to people I know. I've dealt with anxiety and OCD since I was a young child. The past two and a half years, I've began to have occasional panic attacks, which are really scary and uncomfortable, and often leave me feeling physically ill. With all that's going on in the world right now, and stress that I'm dealing with individually, I had a panic attack yesterday at work. I'm doing okay today and I'm finding ways to manage these episodes.

It seems like some days I worry about EVERYTHING. In order to tame my anxiety and bring myself to a better state of mind, I do the following:

Stop what I'm doing and go someplace alone.
Take my medicine.
Listen to relaxing music.
Pray.
Focus on things I'm thankful for.
Focus on enjoyable hobbies and interests (i.e. lighting and cars)

I will say that lighting and a site like LG is a blessing for me to enjoy a unique interest with other likeminded people 

Anyone have any advice or memories of their own struggles? After reaching out to a few people, I've found I am not alone in this battle and that many people are actually very understanding and compassionate.

I have a vision problem.  I have too many flies and my solution is a vitreoctomy.  which I have to avoid as much as I can.  sometimes I get very angry and I get depressed it is like a visual torture to be seeing these things.  I can't see white walls and the clarity kills me.  I was taking pills for a while. They caused very bad depression.  I had a time when I had bad thoughts ..... fortunately I took refuge in the gallery and although I am still sick of this I have it better and more animated.  the bulbs help me to be more animated and happy.  I hope you cheer up too.  there is always something to fight for.  your dreams come true !!! 😊

 I have a vision problem.  I have too many flies and my solution is a vitreoctomy.  which I have to avoid as much as I can.  sometimes I get very angry and I get depressed it is like a visual torture to be seeing these things.  I can't see white walls and the clarity kills me.  I was taking pills for a while. They caused very bad depression.  I had a time when I had bad thoughts ..... fortunately I took refuge in the gallery and although I am still sick of this I have it better and more animated.  the bulbs help me to be more animated and happy.  I hope you cheer up too.  there is always something to fight for.  your dreams come true !!! 😊

I hate getting dental work done, so you can imagine how my 7 appointments were like for me last year when I got a dentist after so many years of not having one and had a lot of work to do. Had to start with a root canal on a tooth and then fillings on almost every tooth which only a quarter of my mouth was done at once.

Heh, I must have spent a small fortune on dental treatment over the years. I once rang my dentist on his mobile to see if he wanted to come out for a drink (I knew him socially before he qualified, which is why I ended up seeing him, even though he was several miles away) and he said "Sorry, I can't, I'm on holiday in Australia..!"  

I think I probably paid for half of that trip  

Luckily I didn't have to pay for my work as I have coverage by the province, I bet it would have been 5 digits in price if i did

I have a vision problem as well. I had a condition called retinoschisis, in which the retina splits at the back of the eye, although this is not retinal detachment as such. This is a relatively common condition, but where it was interesting with me is that it had progressed into the macula of the eye. This is actually extremely rare, one of the consultants I saw at the Eye Clinic at the hospital said as far as he knew I was only the eighth person in the world known to have it 

It was mostly corrected with surgery, but I have lost quite a lot of my peripheral vision in that eye 

This place has helped me a lot. Sammi and I have had problems with certain members in the past as most of you will be aware, but that is hopefully all in the past now