How do I stop going red all the time

[Arkefly]

Hi

I am a 23 year old male who is a Type 1 diabetic on Lantus. I have suffered from anxiety issues for a few months now but it seems to have gotten worse lately. I go red or blush every time some one asks me a question or starts speaking to me. It doesn't matter who it is, my dad or my uncle or my best friend, I just go bright red and don't say anything.

I used to be the 'clown of the class' as it were, always making people laugh etc. But recently I feel my real personality has been completely stripped away from me and now I'm this shy, awkward person who hates social situations.

I know this is a Diabetic Forum but I really don't know what to do. It's making me very unhappy and I can feel my anxiety issues taking over my life.

 

[viviennem]

Have you spoken to your doctor? If you have anxiety problems you really need professional help.

I had acute anxiety syndrome some years ago, following the break-up of my marriage, and I found I needed all the help I could get. Many people suffer from anxiety and it's nothing to be ashamed of - nor are you "peculiar".

My main advice based on personal experience is - never listen to yourself at 3 o'clock in the morning! Everything always seems worse then.

Viv

 

[Sue Morton]

Hi - what happened to you at the beginning of those past 3 months to make you lose confidence in yourself you need to examine yourself as to why this has happened.

You say you used to be the clown etc perhaps you have been told to grow up and that you can't act like that any more your not a child and that this has stripped what you thought was your personality away from you. Your acting the clown proably covered up your lack of confidence and now that you don't do that any more your just left a normal person.

We all have our own qualities and you have to find out what quality you have as a person you can still make people laugh but without the childish acting as a clown - making people laugh is good and if you can find a way to do this without acting as a clown then that in it self is a quality that people will be drawn to. People don't like pranks though.

I used to blush when I was in my twenties and would say the first thing that came into my head and many a time it was the wrong thing and the result I would blush but as you gain confidence in yourself I try now to think before I speak and there will be times when you get a situation that is difficult to handle and yes you may blush but examine that situation and the way you handled it and think of how you should have handled so if you have that same situation again you will handle it different and gradually you will build up your confidence and the blushing will hopefully stop.

Think about what qualities you have as a person and work on these you are an individual person with qualities that only you have as we are all different and as you draw on your qualities people will be drawn to you and gradually that lack of confidence anxiety etc will fall away and you will have found the person you are.

I wish you well and hope that I have been able to help a little bit
Sue