I AM GAY.

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AND BECAUSE OF IT I AM DEPRRESED AND I HAVE SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Are you seeing a counsellor, Nocturnal? A good counsellor can help a lot.An important thing is how you feel about yourself. Can you accept that you are as good a person as everyone else? With as much right to a good life as everyone else?

I no this may sound corney but just go with me here.First thing you have to do is accept yourself. How do you feel about ur sexuality, don't even think about what n eone else thinks about it. If you didn't fear that n eone else cared would it still bother you as much? Are you just having anxiety because of the fear someone may find out. My suggestion to you is to sit down with someone you really care about and talk to them about how your feelings.. It will help alot to get some things off your chest. The Cousoler suggestion is also a great idea, they can help you one on one with any problems you might be having accepting yourself and ur feelings about others attitudes towards you.

y is you being gay causing depression? have you spoken to anyone about it? and as for the social anxiety disorder... if you truly think you have it i can tell you from personal experience that meds work wonders for it.

Hello Nocturnal,I am a little unclear about the connection between your sexual orientation and the social phobia. Generally a diagnosis of social phobia should not be made if the excessive anxiety can be attributed to a specific concern (like sexual orientation). For example, a person who becomes embarrassed in social situations because of a stuttering problem would not be eligible for the diagnosis. So to have social phobia you must be concerned about being humiliated or embarrassed from a poor performance in front of others. You fear that you will be negatively evaluated based on your behaviors, not your sexual oreientation.Now, you could be afraid of having others evaluate certain behavioral tendencies that you would characterize as being "too homosexual." If this is the case, like I said before a diagnosis of social phobia is not appropriate.Medication for social phobia, while certainly a viable treatment, is not as effective on a long-term basis as is treatments with a cognitive and exposure based focused. It makes sense. Afterall, if you plan to lubricate the wheels of socialbility with a pill, for most, expect to be taken for a long and cost-prohibitive ride.In summary, I advise caution in letting some ill-advised Doc who sees you for 15 minutes slap you with a label that will appear on your medical records permanently. Focus on becoming comfortable and accepting of your professed sexual orientation.

In reply to: Medication for social phobia, while certainly a viable treatment, is not as effective on a long-term basis as is treatments with a cognitive and exposure based focused. It makes sense. Afterall, if you plan to lubricate the wheels of socialbility with a pill, for most, expect to be taken for a long and cost-prohibitive ride. good post. i just thought i'd comment on what you said about medicine for social anxiety . yes i am a big believer in cognitive behavioral therapy for these things to change the ways of thinking, but for some people a short dose of medication can help them get over the edge and get over their fears by making them comfortable in situations they are usually not and then they tend to realize "hey this isn't so bad!"... i'm just speaking from personal experience. and medication and therapy often make a great combination... although i'm not so sure this guy really has social anxiety, probably just worries over being gay....

OMG I KNOW HOW YOU FELL I HATE IT, I WANNA LIKE ONLY GIRLS BUT I CANT FUCKING HELP IT :'(