S.a.d.

I'm sad. *sniffs*

roflmao. Or sad pathetic I cant decide.

ANYWAY, back to the point of this thread.

Any of you know what social anxiety disorder is or suffer from it?

Im just wondering if the social interaction (false but something) is good for those in the world too anxious to leave their homes, versus the possibility of becoming addicted to second life and having less reason to fight against the anxiety.

If that makes no sense please respond with 50 pence and a small koala sacrafice and Ill try to explain again

I tried bringing one of my friends into Second Life who has social anxiety.

Her response was, "Well, I'd like to have a house and build things but I wouldn't want anyone to talk to me. Can I play it by myself?"

Yes, I think that something online is a good step for someone who suffers from such anxiety. If you or someone you know cannot literally leave their home for fear of interaction, but you can invite them to join you in SL, then more power to you. That's great! Even if they're only able to interact with you, that's one more person then they had in their first life. Baby steps seem to be an important mantra for just about any physical, mental, or psychological disorder. However you can take those baby steps are valued moments.

As to the comment, "I'd only come in world and build." That's not a bad thing either. You have to do SOMETHING with your life, and if you're truly housebound (I am due to health) then having an outlet online to be useful, to DO something, is rewarding. If someone comes online and finds an avenue of space, utility, or any other reason, why not?

My two Linden worth.
jes

I think it works for some who are otherwise socially inhibited.

And I think it's a good thing. Online people are just as real as offline ones, and can become good and enduring friends!

coco

In RL - I'm most comfortable fading into the background, and small social situations freak me out unless its among close friends.

No problem speaking in front of a group though - for some reason that's just different.

Yet when I'm in SL, I don't have any anxiety issues at all. There's a certain comfort in those extra few seconds to think about what you're going to say before you say it.

I myself have anxiety disorder...
For months I did not leave my house, unless it was dire.
I found SL and tho, I cannot say I am fully cured(you never really are anyway), it has helped me quite a lot.

It's much easier to talk to someone here.

IRL, it would be nice to say "HI" to everyone you see on the street, but then you would be looked at like you have 3 heads 9 out of 10 times.

SO SO much easier in SL...

First off, I am no medical professional, and I dont pretend to be one.

I have an anxiety disorder in rl, which I believe to be mostly caused by stress, though social situations can set it off, especially if I am arround people I do not know. About 4 months ago, it got unbearably bad. I sought some professional help, removed the things from my life that I hated, and after a couple of weeks things got alot better.

I wouldnt say that I feel 100%, but tons, tons better than I did.

Now, where this pertains to SL... while my anxiety problem was going full swing, SL did not seem to help. I think that this was because my problems were real-world problems, and trying to escape them on SL wasn't going to fix anything. However, that being said, there are some groups in SL that may be able to offer you some support. One of these groups is "Support for Healing". While SFH is probably most known as a depression support group, they hold meetings for dealing with anxiety problems as well.

More recently, after I was able to make my anxiety more controllable, I was able to enjoy SL as much if not more than I did when I first joined up.

Of course, what I have been told is that there are different causes for anxiety, and more than likely your anxiety is not triggered by the same things that trigger mine. Still, I would contact the SFH group, seems like a noble cause, and I think it honestly might help.

Sorry if this whole post is a little discombobulated, Ive been up for some time now... thinking patterns are all screwey..

Well you've voiced your opinion, it was entertaining, mildly, I wont bother articulating a response to your invalid and insepid arguements as, you're leaving.

bye

reply to the wrong thread?

Na replying to OP

gotcha.

roflmao