low self esteem

[terirocks]

hi every1 - i dont know if this is the right area to post it but

my name is teri , im 21 years old and i suffer from an extremely lowself esteem. ive tried many ways to help myself but nothing is working out. i fail in everything. my social anxiety is crippling to the point where i cant carry out a proper conversation. i feel very lonely and suffocated most of the time. my parents are both diabetic an im epileptic. i feel depressed and suicidal some of the time.ive had to drop out of school several times because of these problems- i cant bear using the bus, i feel scared. does any1 have any suggestions on how i can make friends? if so please email me at email removed

[Kakster]

hello!

 

A lot of us know how you feel. I think we've all been there at some point in our lifes. Infact, i think you just described me. Hmmm... maybe i can't help you...

 

Well, when I dropped out of school, I went to work full time. There i found a great friend. Well maybe i didn't find her, i think she found me. You'll find that there are great people out there who used to be like us. Those people will try to reach you, but you have to let them reach you.

You'll find that most people worry about the same things you do.

 

Try saying 'hi' to strangers. Their reactions won't matter since you will probably never see them agian. Since you mentioned school, try taking a class you're really interested in. There you will have people with the same interests as you and will be easier to find a subject to talk to them about.

 

One thing I did was go outside alone. To the store, to the movies... etc. Since I had no one to hide behind, i was forced to ask the questions and buy the items. It got easier over time.

That's all I can think of.

 

Good luck,

and hey... i'm reachin' for ya

[mtastic]

Hi Teri,

 

I know how you feel, I suffer from alot of social anxiety too. I'm a college student, and i can get along with people in a classromm situation ok, but it seems like once we get out of class I'm on my own, i always seem to get left out of everything people do, but my self esteem is to low to invite anybody to do anything with me. I ususally wind up alone most weekends. I also know what you mean about feeling like you fail at everything, I get that way alot too.

 

As far as helping yourself, have you tried conciling? That has been helping me lately. Kakster had some good suggestions. I agree, go out and do things by yourself, not just things you need to do like going to the store, but do things for fun by yourself as well. Try taking a night when you don't have anything to do and going down to a local cafe to sit, read and just try to enjoy getting out of the house. Maybe join some kind of local club or take a class about something that interests you, that way you'll have a good chance of meeting others with common interests.

 

Also, if you want a friend, feel free to pm or Im me to talk.

 

Best of luck to you,

mtastic

[kauaiangirl83]

Hi

 

I agree with the other posts. It seems like everyone gets down at some point and all you can do is reach out to others. I have also felt like this and sometimes I still do. you're doing a great job at asking for help. At least it shows that you want to change and that's half the battle.

 

I think the thing that helped me the most with getting slowly out of my depression was staying busy. I made myself get up in the morning, take a shower, eat something even if i didn't want to. I would go to the mall or something by myself or go to the library or bookstore and get absorbed by a really good book. Figure out what you really like to do and do it. Get your mind off of all the bad things and try to find something that makes you happy.

 

I also just started working and a girl befriended me. We talk a lot and that really helps. Whenever I can, I write in my journal so that I can get all my emotions out too.

 

I hope that this helps...Take care!

 

You are not alone!

[mtastic]

Kauiangrl83 had another good point: when you're feeling depressed eat something, even if you don't want to. I find that when i'm depressed, even if its not the cause, being hungry only makes things feel worse. I always try to make myself a sandwhich or eat some fruit when I'm feeling down, and it usually picks me up a bit.

 

Just my extra 2 cents,

mtastic

[DragonSlayerX]

iam the same way i have had low self esteem my whole life