How do you deal with social anxiety disorder?

How to deal with SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder)?

• I have no idea how to deal with it, and I don't want to go to a therapist because I don't want my parents knowing. It would show up on the insurance. I basically diagnosed myself because I go through all of the symptoms. I hate leaving my house, I hate being in public, I hate talking to people and looking them in the eye. I panic about everything weeks and even months before it's supposed to happen. I'm scared to drive (I have a license). I even dropped out of a college course because I would have had to get up in front of the class and speak for a minute every single class, and it was a required course. I've had panic attacks where I can't breathe and start sweating heavily. I avoid interactions, have fast heartbeats, and I stutter constantly when talking within a group of people.

• Answer:

  First things first: SAD refers to like...eight different conditions. My favorite is Sexual Arousal Disorder. Anyway! Only one way: confront it. force yourself to deal with the things that are bugging you. If you get an anxiety impulse to act, do the exact opposite. This is very difficult I know. I have Megapanic (third one today, each one made methink i was going to die. Feh.) which forced me to deal with it all really really fast. And I learned that there is one universal way to improve things: doing them. Its the only way really. :/ I wish I could say otherwise. If you act on an impulse, it just validates that impulse. You have to stop it from doing that. Every time you win over the urges, it gets easier (over the long run. expect up and down spikes.)