Dealing with social anxiety

Andrew Ward9 said:How does one explain social phobia to a complete outsider, and how can you convey the sheer weight of it to someone who isn't suffering through it? Perhaps the simplest way is to draw a parallel to ophidiophobia—the fear of snakes. Plenty of people claim they aren't afraid of snakes, yet if one were to slither into their immediate vicinity, they would feel an undeniable surge of unease and agitation. Now, imagine living with that exact sensation every single time you interact with another human being. It is constant. I wasn't truly aware of the depth of this when I was younger, but life has a way of teaching you things through attrition. Since I can remember, I have always been painfully shy; even basic eye contact felt like a physical blade cutting through me. I didn't dwell on it much back then; I just existed that way, though looking back, it was a fundamentally broken way to live. As the years passed, the anxiety only intensified, and I began my misguided attempt at self-medication with alcohol, simply because I couldn't find any semblance of relaxation in the presence of others without a drink in my hand. Eventually, that spiraled into a six-year daily habit. I had fallen into a vicious cycle that I desperately needed to break before the resulting depressions became unmanageable. That was when I finally read about social phobia and realized my case was a particularly extreme version of the disorder. I made the decision to see a psychiatrist, which was a mistake in terms of social optics; coming from a small town in the Midwest, admitting you're seeing a mental health professional carries a heavy stigma, almost like admitting to a moral failing. Many of my supposed "friends" began looking at me through a different, judgmental lens, which stung more than I care to admit, but life moves on and one learns to adapt. The hardest part is the isolation; there is no one to talk to. At home, the prevailing sentiment is that I should be able to handle this entirely on my own, but if I could actually solve it solo, I wouldn't be in this position. I am thirty now, and I have finally started making changes, though progress is slow and deliberate. I am hoping to find someone else navigating these same waters, someone I might be able to connect with, perhaps even meet, just to ease the burden. Knowing I am not alone in this struggle would make the path ahead significantly easier.