Social phobia and changing jobs...

joegw

Probably not the best time to being saying this but I need to get a new job...asap
I have social phobia and know that my current is making me worse because I am so isolated all day.
I currently work in a print room with one other colleague.
I'm 26 and have never been to uni, would love to go - if I wasn't so scared of the world around me.
I have no idea what I want to do because everything is blocked by my social phobia.
I am currently going to group therepy which is helping but spending the rest of the week at work is ruining all the hard work.
I think an outside job might be hugely helpful. i would like to aim to goback to study for a career but for now I need to focus on changing my job.
Advice please and does anyone suffer from the same!

ps. I'm based in Wiltshire if anyone has anything to offer me

piggeh

Get a job with more people involvement, it will help you massively. My current job is pretty isolated and I find myself starting to become more withdrawn. I am actually waiting on a job offer at the moment, which will mean a lot more engagement with people. It's sometihng similar to what I've done before, so I know I can do it, but it gets more daunting the longer you end up being isolated and not involved with people. I'm quite nervous if I do get the job now.

I know how you feel though. I went to University twice when my social phobia was at its worse and ended up leaving early twice (and bankruptcy as a result). Only now I am thinking of going back to university at the age of 28 but my social phobia is still there and is still a challenge (though not as bad as it once was). but it only gets worse if you end up not talking to people all day.

If you cant find a new job then think of ways to improve the situation in your current job. OK, you work in a print room - are your print services set up efficiently? Are internal customers happy? Maybe you could go round and ask people for feedback face to face, ask for suggestions from people on how to improve processes etc. It will get you out talking to people and from there you can expand your responsibilities to improving things, talking to suppliers on new ways of doing things etc.

joegw

piggeh wrote: »

Get a job with more people involvement, it will help you massively. My current job is pretty isolated and I find myself starting to become more withdrawn. I am actually waiting on a job offer at the moment, which will mean a lot more engagement with people. It's sometihng similar to what I've done before, so I know I can do it, but it gets more daunting the longer you end up being isolated and not involved with people. I'm quite nervous if I do get the job now.

I know how you feel though. I went to University twice when my social phobia was at its worse and ended up leaving early twice (and bankruptcy as a result). Only now I am thinking of going back to university at the age of 28 but my social phobia is still there and is still a challenge (though not as bad as it once was). but it only gets worse if you end up not talking to people all day.

If you cant find a new job then think of ways to improve the situation in your current job. OK, you work in a print room - are your print services set up efficiently? Are internal customers happy? Maybe you could go round and ask people for feedback face to face, ask for suggestions from people on how to improve processes etc. It will get you out talking to people and from there you can expand your responsibilities to improving things, talking to suppliers on new ways of doing things etc.

Thanks, I have twice been accepted on Uni courses but never been able to go. Always end up in such a mess, I just don;t know what to do with myself.
Thanks for the suggestions but were not allowed to walk around the office and talk to people. We use to visit all the floors delivering paper and than was stressful but my phobia wasn't anywhere near as bad as it is now.
It's awful now and I would say that is a direct result of my job becoming so bad. I just don't know where to turn to.
I took the last two days off to get my head together. I have noticed I'm so much more sociable but as soon as I'm back in the office for the day it ruins my mindset.
What job are you currently doing and what have you applied for?

piggeh

I started a new thread for my job situation, although it's in purchasing (which is normally pretty good in speaking to a lot of people and suppliers though my current job is very 'at arms reach').

How bad is your phobia? Do you get panic attacks, other sensations, etc?

You should ask about reviewing your processes or something, and see how open they are to you approaching others. They may be quite open to it as it shows you're taking a positive interest in improving things, rather than walking round being seen as unnecessary. Be wary of assuming they'll say no if you have a good business arguement for doing so.

Bargin_bunny_2

Maybe do some voluntary work if you get time. It means that you could start pretty much straight away and could gain good experience for new jobs.
http://www.do-it.org.uk/ this website will tell you everything that is in your area and times.

joegw

Phobia is pretty bad, and yes I get panic attacks.

piggeh

I guess you have been to see your GP, hence the group therapy. Maybe talk to your GP again about your plans re Uni and see what they advise. I would look for a new job though if it's not possible to improve things at work. Personally I found CBT a good course of therapy and there's some good self help stuff you can do when not in therapy to challenge your anxieties.

http://www.livinglifetothefull.com/index.php

I also visit phobics-awareness.org/ occassionally as well which has a lot of people on their chatroom/forum etc that have gone through similar experiences and are a good source of support or to talk things through.

My own thoughts re Uni - if you need an extra year to challenge your problems and start to overcome them, it will make university much more rewarding when you get there (though I do worry about being 28 and going to be honest, but couldnt have done it a few years ago).

joegw

piggeh wrote: »

I guess you have been to see your GP, hence the group therapy. Maybe talk to your GP again about your plans re Uni and see what they advise. I would look for a new job though if it's not possible to improve things at work. Personally I found CBT a good course of therapy and there's some good self help stuff you can do when not in therapy to challenge your anxieties.

http://www.livinglifetothefull.com/index.php

I also visit phobics-awareness.org/ occassionally as well which has a lot of people on their chatroom/forum etc that have gone through similar experiences and are a good source of support or to talk things through.

My own thoughts re Uni - if you need an extra year to challenge your problems and start to overcome them, it will make university much more rewarding when you get there (though I do worry about being 28 and going to be honest, but couldnt have done it a few years ago).

im currently going down the route of CBT, I have tried just about everything else. I have come off medication - was on it for 3 years. it's working but i need to get another job because all the hard work is being wasted sat around at work.

vaporate

It is perfectly normal what you are experiencing. Every human on the planet becomes withdrawn if you are isolated for long periods and lose social skills.

Don't worry. Keep active where you can and fight it

wontfallforit

joegw wrote: »

Probably not the best time to being saying this but I need to get a new job...asap
I have social phobia and know that my current is making me worse because I am so isolated all day.
I currently work in a print room with one other colleague.
I'm 26 and have never been to uni, would love to go - if I wasn't so scared of the world around me.
I have no idea what I want to do because everything is blocked by my social phobia.
I am currently going to group therepy which is helping but spending the rest of the week at work is ruining all the hard work.
I think an outside job might be hugely helpful. i would like to aim to goback to study for a career but for now I need to focus on changing my job.
Advice please and does anyone suffer from the same!

ps. I'm based in Wiltshire if anyone has anything to offer me

I've never encountered SP, so I don't really have any amazing advice on how to go about changing jobs, other than to wish you luck.

With university study, though, why not ease yourself into it by doing some distance learning to begin with? The first year of undergraduate degrees don't count towards your final degree grade. Perhaps you could enrol with the OU (or distance learning with the uni of your choice - if it's offered). Distance learning means you only have limited human contact, via post, email, phone, etc., and can allow you to immerse yourself in your studies (fitting around work, too), so you're not distracted by your SP.

If all went well and you passed your courses as a minimum, you could transfer to a physical uni and finish up your course there. This is usually a straightforward process, and you may find the entry requirements are relaxed, given that you'd have already studied at higher education level. Alternatively, you could complete your entire course via distance learning.

With uni, however, you'll find that many people are in the same boat. Many courses are diverse, and contain people from all walks of life - from shy, inexperienced 18 year olds, to established and confident 30 year olds, to tentative middle-aged persons looking for self-betterment, retraining, etc. If you find yourself panicky and nervous, you certainly wouldn't be the only student feeling the same way. Added to that, you can always take a (lengthy) break if you become overwhelmed, and your university will have loads of support in place to help you get by.

Best of luck x

joegw

wontfallforit wrote: »

I've never encountered SP, so I don't really have any amazing advice on how to go about changing jobs, other than to wish you luck.

With university study, though, why not ease yourself into it by doing some distance learning to begin with? The first year of undergraduate degrees don't count towards your final degree grade. Perhaps you could enrol with the OU (or distance learning with the uni of your choice - if it's offered). Distance learning means you only have limited human contact, via post, email, phone, etc., and can allow you to immerse yourself in your studies (fitting around work, too), so you're not distracted by your SP.

If all went well and you passed your courses as a minimum, you could transfer to a physical uni and finish up your course there. This is usually a straightforward process, and you may find the entry requirements are relaxed, given that you'd have already studied at higher education level. Alternatively, you could complete your entire course via distance learning.

With uni, however, you'll find that many people are in the same boat. Many courses are diverse, and contain people from all walks of life - from shy, inexperienced 18 year olds, to established and confident 30 year olds, to tentative middle-aged persons looking for self-betterment, retraining, etc. If you find yourself panicky and nervous, you certainly wouldn't be the only student feeling the same way. Added to that, you can always take a (lengthy) break if you become overwhelmed, and your university will have loads of support in place to help you get by.

Best of luck x

Thanks but I honestly don't think long distance learning would be a good idea as I need to be around people to get better. I would like to think I could immerse myself into my studies but my mind would wonder. I never been good at that sort of thing.

Uni feels like it would shape me as a person and perhaps missing out on it has caused me grow up without the important social skills.
I did have a dream of going a number of times but now I can't think of what I would want to study because it always gets messy in mind. My social phobia blocks my thought process and chucks it out.
I'm thinking of using some of my leave in my current job and just taking a week or two to step back and see how I feel. I would be more relaxed, rather than panicking all the time and perhaps find a new direction.
What do others think about this?