has anybody here cured social anxiety/ depression without drugs?

>>25651568

There is no cure.

Drugs only help you manage it.

>>25651568
Have you tried being yourself?
Oc

>>25651568
Meditation bruv.

A nice, warm bullet to the head.

iktf, OP.

>>25651589
So I should just give up on the whole idea of a life outside my house?

>>25651613
have experimented with it but it didn't really do much to me. I think I'm too chemically fucked

>>25651589
My mom has started confronting me about my drug use. Getting sober and continuing to use drugs both don't seem like positive outcomes. I just want to kill myself, but I'm too much of a coward to hurt the people who care about me. There's nowhere to run to now.

>>25651638
>So I should just give up on the whole idea of a life outside my house?

No, but you shouldn't get your hopes up.

>>25651638
Did you do meme meditation of just sitting around doing nothing? Active meditation is best meditation.

Yes, to a point. Wouldn't say it's cured, but I can leave the house and talk to people without panicking.
Cultivating a sense of superiority, making myself believe that I am god and entitled to have everything I want/capable of getting it for myself is how I got myself leaving the house. The depression I managed by not trying so damn hard to be happy all the time and looking for the reasons I had to be sad and working on changing them to the best of my ability.
That and having a few off-days where I went someplace and behaved atrociously on purpose to counteract the timidity I'd developed around people--to be disliked by people and pretty much say "tough shit, you don't have to like me." And see that I would not cease to exist if everyone thought I was an asshole. The world would not explode. Life would go on. YMMV of course but that's my method

Not cured, but mitigated. I find the more I withdraw from life the worse my anxiety and depression gets. Believe it or not being forced by my parents to get a job and go to school seriously reduced my anxiety. It's still there, but I'm in a much better spot than I was two years ago.

>>25651568
It wasn't exactly cured since it came back years later, but around the time that I was 18-19 I adopted a whole punk rock/metal/goth persona and got way into it. pic related.

The year before that I was just shy kid with no real interests or hobbies besides comic books and video games, but with metal/punk I was suddenly someone who belonged somewhere.


That whole "be yourself" meme? The worst. Don't be yourself, change yourself, fake it until you make it. I managed to actually steal someone's 9/10 girlfriend, dated her for a while, she later broke up with me because she found out that I was actually pretty boring and had no friends and then found another girl not even a few months later who was a virgin and had sex with me for the first time. To this day that remains the most alpha things I ever did. Also I only smoked weed and did shrooms once, all in the same night.

Eventually I broke up with that girl (I felt like it was best for her desu), went back to college where everyone was a bit younger, and found myself out of the "scene". That's when the anxiety came back. I was bringing alcohol to class in gatorade bottles. Slowly I got back into the scene, got another girl, got over the anxiety (also started smoking weed around that time) and repeated that cycle again.

Now I'm 30 and threw out most of my goth/punk clothes & stopped doing my hair and make-up in that style, and would probably feel weird if I did, and I haven't been with a girl since 2010.

Maybe I need a new "self" besides the punk/metal thing.

>>25651568
>tfw can't talk to people or function in society at all
>have to do it or I'l be homeless
I wish I could just stay home like neet fags

>>25651884
>That and having a few off-days where I went someplace and behaved atrociously on purpose to counteract the timidity I'd developed around people--to be disliked by people and pretty much say "tough shit, you don't have to like me." And see that I would not cease to exist if everyone thought I was an asshole.
I really need to do something like this because right now I have a completely irresistable need to be liked by everyone. It's so bad I can't express opinions or give anything other than bland agreement on anything because I'm worried someone might disagree or take it the wrong way. Ironically this probably makes me a boring person nobody likes.

Ok op!

I have manage myself to be social and im still adjusting to it. :)

There is the good and the bad. I know it is hard op it really is.

What i did was talk to those you always see around you at a time or at the same time.

I dont use drugs. But i use natural remedies. 100 percent. Plant extracts.
Please dont overdose. I have overdose and it was awful.

Manly i use nervous sytem related.

Just relax and just do it.

Learning more about reality and your brain is key. Also your heart sometimes in my perspective :)

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I kind of think that people who say they did never had it in the first place. People tell me "you just have to go outside and then it gets better lol, pull yourself up by your bootstraps".

Then if I tell them I panic when there's a phone call or a knock at the door, and I'd probably rather starve than go buy food, and I'd probably rather die than get help, the response is like "WHAT THE HELL, PUSSY?" and it occurs to me that nobody really actually knows what having an anxiety disorder is like.

I think tonight I'm just going to down this bottle of schnapps and then hang myself.

>>25651568

exist.

originalcomment

>>25652520
relatively high amounts of alcohol or coffee make it easier, for me at least

>>25652663
yes. but those are also drugs

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Exposing yourself to the world. Showing everyone around you just how low you are. How disgusting you are as a person. Let everyone around you shame you. Let everyone around you hate you.

And then growing from it.

Getting over the fear of it all. Let the anons laugh, let everyone around you laugh. Your victory is achieved, and your soul is renewed.

You can live life free now. Free of judgement from the self. Free of oppression. You won't need to chain yourself to another soul. You will just be yourself. You will be happy.

>>25651568
studying quantum mechanics help
seriously
that shit will make you wonder

>>25651568
observe normies, then fake normalcy. eventually you will fake so good, you will become one

>>25651568
I had social anxiety to the point I would have a panic attack whenever I went outside. Like nobody had to even be around just going outside was horrible. The reason for that was because I hated my body because I was grossly obese. I started exercising everyday for an hour and ate way healthier and lost about 35kg in 4-5 months. I then started going for short trips around where I lived. Gradually increasing where and how long I went until I could just seem casual around others. You have to basically think about potential situations that could arise and think of solutions to them. It's all about taking small steps at a time. Although if something unexpected happens I can still panic inside.

>>25652728
I know but I don't see any other way to cure it, just the meditation stuff which i think is bullshit

>>25651589

Keep your mind and your hands so busy that you forget your symptoms. It's hard to do.

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/gif/ has found the cure

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>>25651609
oh a classic one~

>>25652850
the main reason I have social anxiety is because I used to not give a fuck and everybody fucking hated me. Then I started pretending to be normal and got friends. Was also teased a lot as a kid for being poor and have a massive inferiority complex.

>>25652850
> i beat depression by just being myself

>>25651568
Get really drunk to the point you find yourself doing weird shit, then go out to a bar and force yourself to sit there and order drinks, even if no one speaks to you the entire night you where out there.

>>25653118
I always got shit for being poor, ugly, and fat and having gyno

I lost weight but I can't really recover. I didn't compensate for having a terrible life by acing schoolwork and cultivating an awesome future. maybe that makes me stupid too.

Anyway I feel like I'm the kind of person who was just supposed to quietly OD or something but that stuff never found me.

>>25653163
drinking 100% cures my anxiety. anything I do while drunk has no affect on my sober life. In fact the only reason I still have some friends is because I'm virtually a normie while drunk. yet while sober the smallest things trigger panic attacks

Drugs help but, having a strict schedule, excerise, and behavioral cognitive therapy will cure you. Drugs will probably never cure you complete. The will change your brain chemistry but, you will become reliant on them if you don't change your cognitive behavior and environment.

>>25653256
Yeah, i can't even talk to my family outside my brother and dad without a drink first, and now they think im an alcoholic because i always drink.

And have you tried xanax? it does not work for me just gives me the same energy as speed.

did the drugs make anyone else here an asshole and crazier?

the actual feeling of sadness has gone away somewhat, but it's been replaced by a persistent cloud of pointlessness (worse than before) and more impulsive thoughts/decisions (i now jaywalk for example, i don't want to die but the risk i might feels less real and i'm less fussed about living.)

i start arguments with my family too.

>>25652520

Same. I don't agree with that anon about purposely acting like an asshole; it's better to just take a stand on something you actually do care about, preparing yourself beforehand so you don't chickenshit out at the first sign of conflict. That way you come across as confident and passionate, not as a jaded dickhead.

I've done some cognitive behavioral therapy and at the very least it's helped me recognize (a) that I have social anxiety and (b) the ways it manifests itself in my life. e.g. when friends invite me out and I don't want to go, but simultaneously feel bad for not going. It's helped me to prepare myself for anxiety-inducing situations and reduce my rationalizations for avoiding society, as well as my guilt when I do indulge myself in a multi-day binge of refusing human contact.

>>25653317
>xanax
>gives you energy
I fucking hate xanax, it makes me feel depressed, stupid and tired

Xanax is great because you can get out the house have some xanax in your pockets and be like:
>ok I have a panic attack, I have my Xanax and I will be ok

>>25653452
try Ativan if Xanax makes you tired

>>25651568
just bee urself baby xdd

>>25653480
I don't use meds anymore, too many bad side effects and little positive ones

>>25653147
>tfw its genuinely true but it doesnt work because its so simple and condescending to hear, so people reject it because if the answer were so simple it would make them feel like even greater colossal fuck ups than they currently are so they wallow in misery until suicide or wizardom

just like, be yourself bro

Working on it right now. After a long distance "relationship" i started gaining some selfesteem. Got a Girl to like me and leave her now Ex-BF. Now after my first real GF and after losing my v-card to the girl i snatched and then going through a sad breakup I convinced myself that i can do a lot better than all of those normies out there caus i got the jokes and the smarts and i am making the first move. The first move seems to be the most important because i seem more like a good partner to the girls. Also the girls from the kindergarten don't automatically talk to strangers.

>>25653598
>basing your self worth over relationships

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>>25652768
We are all connected.
OC

>>25653598
>sad breakup

What happened? And how did you lose your virginity if it was an LDR?

>>25653396
>when friends invite me out and I don't want to go, but simultaneously feel bad for not going.
Oh god I do that all the time. They invite me somewhere but I turn them down or brush them off with a "maybe" because I'm worried about going into some social situation, and instead I go home and feel miserable about not going out with them. It's good that you're managing it though.

>>25654159
>tfw stopped being invited to things

>>25654216
It always reaches that point eventually, but what can we expect? If we keep turning people down they will eventually assume we're not interested in socialising with them.

>>25652850
>just be yourself

I'm the worst person ever, if i be myself i would probably get punched everyday.

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>>25654311
you can't be yourself if you care what others think of you

>>25653341
Which drugs? If it's an SSRI, you may be bipolar. This happened to me when I took Zoloft and I turned out to have Bipolar II. The rage/risk-taking/agitation were symptoms of a "mixed episode" caused by the drugs.

>>25655156
>Zoloft

Can't believe they still give that shit.

Becoming a nihilist cured my social anixiety , on the down side i got fatter and dont shower very often , but idgaf

Well I took many anti-depressants and they kinda worked

>>25651568
>>25651589
>>25651620
>>25651568
Yes.
I was a drug addict, on the verge of suicide until I found Jesus Christ, he loves your soul and wants you to be happy
I finally after years got gf, a Christian devout just like myself.
Why are you not a Christian?

Well how long have you guys had Social anxiety for?

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>>25651568
well, some how i get a girlfriend that was what make me happy, sex. There is no secret really. SHE has to choose you,kinda, so most of you are doomed.
sorry

>>25656462
I'd say the last 4 years, while in school. I was abused pretty badly as a kid, and I never really got help for it. I was smart, and good at school, so grade school was easy for me, and I managed to make great friends despite being a bit of a wreck. When I lost my support networks and old outlets after leaving for school, I fell apart. I'm slowly finding myself again. I'm starting therapy or online CBT in the next couple of weeks, I want to get healthy so I can pursue grad school seriously. I'm thinking the therapist route is probably better since I have depressive episodes as well, and CBT is mainly for anxiety, as far as I know.

>>25656462
8 years since I was 14

>>25652645
That was me three years ago. "Bootstraps" is horse shit, but there is lots of mental-psychological heavy lifting required to manage without pills. It's probably easier with meds, but I couldn't because money and needing to keep my psych record clean.

>>25656462
Since always, i found a way to deal with it 2 years ago by doing cardio.

I love running and swimming, it calms my mind and the anxiety almost disappear, i have to do it everyday thought, since when i wake up is back.

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You dont cure depression and anxiety, you embrace it, you just let it slide on you like a cold and heavy blanket, you just let it penetrate your soul and mind and you just accept the darkness and loneliness that will follow you through the rest of your miserable existence.

But one day you will be able to feel the embrace of the ultimate waifu, Death itself will carry you in her arms and you won't suffer anymore, she will be with you in the end.

>>25656676
bet you're a fucking tank and you're not telling us about it

>>25651638
>So I should just give up on the whole idea of a life outside my house?

Yes, if you weren't able to develop social skills when you were young, it's probably never going to happen.

I did OP.

I was in a federal detention center for 2 months.

I no longer give a shit what other people think to almost any level. Talking to people is easy when you know 99% of those you talk to don't know mental anguish like you do. It's a superiority thing, but I level it by also having a complex of being alienated. Too much baggage, how could anyone understand this? I'm a pariah, yet a beacon of existence.

This duality is what helps me on a daily basis OP. It never gets better, it only gets more isolated.

>>25656752
having no social skills and having social anxiety are two different things

>>25654499

Not caring what others think of you won't keep them from treating you as the punching bag or the laughing stock.

>>25656725
Well swimming made me a bit bigger, but i don't look like someone who lift or workout.

Just went from skinny to normal.

>>25656789

Not really, fearing socialization is the natural result of social retardation. It doesn't just happen out of nowhere, for no reason.

>>25656789
No, they're both connected.
Normies learned social skills when they were young, that's the reason things like social anxiety are alien to them.

>>25651568
Literally the only thing that works for anxiety is MONTHS OF VIGOROUS EXERCISE.

When you feel great physiologically, you also feel great psychologically.


Not to say that becoming physically fit is going to magically give you social skills, but, socializing WILL become easier when you're somewhat physically attractive.

t. someone who overcame AvPD

>>25651691
Getting clean was the best decision I ever made.
Tolerating yourself, even getting to a place where you're okay with yourself isn't a quick fix, shit takes time.

>>25656968
Ive begun running every day, how many months before it starts making me feel less depressed

>>25657029
Get some resistance training in too homie.

Building muscle increases your testosterone levels, which are one of the hormones that contribute to the anxiolytic effects of exercise.

>>25657029
Do push ups, squads, things like that
Eath healthy

You goal is not to become a bodybuilder, just to feel better with yourself.

I just started eating healty and vitamin d

>>25656462
It really came out when I was about 17 or 18.

>>25657182
ya but weights are quicker and easier to make a habit of

>>25656904
>>25656943
No, this is untrue.
With Social Anxiety you can have the ability to comprehend what is and isn't appropriate in social cues and situations. You are able to acknowledge what type of behavior will get the desired results. The problem lies in the ability to executed said results do to a crippling fear that if you fail in the execution the consequences will be much larger than what they actually are.

Someone with NO social skills is completely inept at identifying what type of behavior is appropriate in a group context, and will often say things that make people uncomfortable without realizing it.

But you are both right in that they are essentially unfixable problems.

>>25656379
Because there is no empirical evidence of your God or your 2,000 year old book of contradictions. That's why. And before the >inb4 fedora comments, I own a fedora, and I proudly fucking wear it against Christfags.

>>25651568
Not cure, but literally not giving a shit can go a long way. Also google something called 'spotlight syndrome' that really helped me.

>>25657385
Thanks for the info.

>>25651568
Not real 'diseases', therefore no 'cure'. Smarten up anon.

Anxiety is more or less gone from forcing myself to socialize, depression is still here though and it's worse than ever.

>>25657385
The self-consciousness didn't come from nowhere though. I've walked past negresses and heard them talking shit about me.

I feel like I've had enough traumatic social experiences that I can't be a part of society anymore.

>>25656676
>>25656968
>>25657029
>>25657182
These anons have the right idea. Exercise will literally make you feel like you're on drugs, because you basically are from the endorphin rush. I bike a river trail every day after work and lift on weekends, and it's made me significantly less fucked up mentally. I'm not cured by any means, but for the 1-2hours I'm out there, my body is too busy working for me to think about how fucking anxious I am all the time.

Worst case scenario is that you get in better shape and improve yourself as a person. You have nothing to lose by trying

the only thing that helps my social anxiety is prolonged exposure. interacting with people until I'm used to it again

depression clears up on its own for me eventually, but it usually comes back on its own too. it's like the rain.

>>25657867
It's not the endorphins, a runners high is from the release of endocannabinoids! Cannabinoids! If you exert yourself hard enough you're literally getting high!

http://www.sciencealert.com/the-real-reason-you-experience-a-runner-s-high-may-not-be-what-you-think
http://news.discovery.com/human/health/that-runners-high-not-endorphins-151008.htm

>>25658193
Huh interesting, thanks for posting. I wonder how many forms of exercise that applies to. Most cardio is probably similar, but I'm not sure about lifting.

>>25658261
hmmm, the paper referenced in the first link literally just states 'exercise' but it does mention 'the stress responses of numerous hormones (growth hormone, ACTH, prolactin, catecholamines and cortisol)'

I may be wrong, but I don't think cardio causes the same amount of growth hormone release as weight training does. In any case, the study was done on female athletes - professional athletes do a whole range of exercises and so should everyone, i think

>>25651568
>curing social anxiety
maybe refocus the intention on working with what feelings present themselves one moment at a time, rather than curing an illness once and for all.

DESU MEDITATION IST FORSOOTH THE MOST POWERFUL TOOL AVAILABLE TO YOU ANON
>>25651638
>""""""""""experimented""""""""""
vector in on meditation, anon.
go deeper.
if there's something like a zen buddhist temple near you, i'd recommend checking it out. if you're interested i can recommend lots of good reading material.

>>25658672
speaking from personal experience, op.
>crippling social anxiety all my life
>have the tools to overcome any situation now honestly
>still get anxious feels but know how to manage

>>25656968
Not really, no. I exercised all the time for years and my anxiety only continued to get worse, even though I was in great shape.

>>25651568
I was hospitalized for depression in December, although I knew inside myself that I could stop being depressed if I was determined to. Then, some weeks after I got out, I became tired of it. It was ruining my life. I told my parents that, immediately, I would stop being depressed. And things just clicked like that. Now I no longer have those vicious cycles of thought that led me into depression. Call it willpower, call it the realization that our time is limited when an immediate family member of mine died a week after I got out of the hospital. Ofc not everyone's experience will be the same, I am very fortunate that things turned out like this for me.

Also, I always rejected medication when I was in the hospital, even though my doctor frequently suggested that I take it. She said "think of it as a tool for your depression, like a pencil or a computer in school". It bothered me that she was so cavalier about a psychoactive drug. If you know your depression is circumstantial and not clinical, REJECT the medication. You will become psychologically dependent on it and it will worsen your depression.

>>25653256
heavy alcohol use causes anxiety when you're not drunk as your system gets used to a state of depression and compensates by over producing neurotransmitters, and also fucks up serotonin levels somehow, but I'm not a doctor nor do I feel like using google

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I have legitimately got over my anxiety & depression. I was legitimately diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety so bad I was on disability.

I am not taking any medication or therapy.
People like me will die without anyone ever listening to our stories or believing us, I gave up on sharing advice because it takes effort which isn't what someone is willing to put in.

>>25651568
>Social Anxiety

I wish.

>Depression

Sunlight, anything that gets the blood flowing for awhile, fresh air, and making yourself a bit more productive all basically make up a cure.