SA relapse

[MrQuiet76]

Has anybody ever made significant recovery from social anxiety disorder to the point where you feel like it no longer controls your life and then relapsed? I feel like that's what's happening to me right now

[JustGaara]

That tends to happen to me more with my depression. I'll get all focused and decide to change and adopt a more positive attitude and everything. Then someone says the wrong thing to me and it all comes crashing down.

What's been going on lately that you feel like you're relapsing?

[Ironman]

It happens from time to time, even for me (heh), but I have noticed that the "SA spikes" are shorter and slightly weaker each time.
It eventually becomes easier to work through the more we have the skills.

[MrQuiet76]

Thanks for the replies!

That tends to happen to me more with my depression. I'll get all focused and decide to change and adopt a more positive attitude and everything. Then someone says the wrong thing to me and it all comes crashing down.

What's been going on lately that you feel like you're relapsing?

I guess I'm basically just acting more like I used to when my SA was severe, years ago... I think it's kinda happening with my depression too. I'm tending to avoid phone calls/texts, blowing off my friends sometimes and my anxiety about anything I have to do in public is just noticeably worse than it was a year or so ago. I think part of it is because I recently moved back home a few months ago, which is where I lived when my anxiety was at it's worst, but it the relapse seemed to start even a little bit before then.

[SweetsoulSister]

I`m terrified of relapsing back into severe anxiety but moreso, debilitating depression.

[takethebiscuit]

I guess I'm basically just acting more like I used to when my SA was severe, years ago... I think it's kinda happening with my depression too. I'm tending to avoid phone calls/texts, blowing off my friends sometimes and my anxiety about anything I have to do in public is just noticeably worse than it was a year or so ago. I think part of it is because I recently moved back home a few months ago, which is where I lived when my anxiety was at it's worst, but it the relapse seemed to start even a little bit before then.

Right then, in order for you to have relapsed you had to make huge amounts of progress and positive changes in your life. I wouldn't tell you that you can feel good about yourself because of the progress and changes you've made because you know your own life and what feelings are right for you. It's just true that a relapse cannot have happened unless things were significantly different in your life.

Anything that is familiar has a kind of power. Under pressure, the mind likes to revert to doing stuff it knows really well. And associations are powerful things. You moved back home which was a place where you had associated with your anxiety being really bad. Moving back there was likely to trigger off some stuff. One thing you can do is change the associations. You're at home now but things are different and being at home feels different. You're not the same person as you were back when your anxiety was really bad. Things are different now.

Have some really great times whilst at home. Set up new associations and, over time, that will paralyse the power of the old stuff

Obviously, check all this over with your doctor and any therapist you may be working with.

[Chantellabella]

Relapses happen during recovery of anything. That's why 12 step programs actually have one step called relapse. It's hard to change behavior, so it's natural to fall back into old habits under stress (like takethebiscuit said). What I found that helps with me when I relapse is to time it. By this I mean...........when you used to be anxious was that for days? weeks? months? This time, did you snap out of it in less time? I used to be anxious and depressed for weeks. Now it's days. I see that as progress. So even if I relapse, I dwell in my old habits less and less. Seeing progress can give you hope that yes, you are improving. It just takes time.

[Matty]

Yes, I have been to that point a couple of times, and dropped back. But it is all manageable. even when it is out of control I still have all the tools I have learnt a long the way. I just dont use them. Just got to put yourself back on track.