Is avoidant personality disorder a meme illness?
>>28844854
they can put a illness on any kind of personality
>>28844854
It's not an illness it's a shitty personality.
>>28844895
This.
A personality disorder is different from an actual illness. It's a fundamental flaw that goes down to the very core of your being. It sucks for everyone involved.
None of them are illnesses until they start affecting your quality of life. You just happen to emulate behaviors others have had. The diagnostic portion is just a short hand used for treatment and categorization. So yes, personality disorders (in your case AVPD) are not memes. they are real, and they suck. That's my answer.
>walk manually at all times--have to consciously and meticulously preplan every single little movement I do; start preparing to step onto a curb when I'm still ten feet away from it
>whenever I talk to people my voice squeaks involuntarily and I can't maintain eye contact
>always feel like I'm trespassing whenever I'm outside, no matter where I am
>it takes me a week to build up the courage to send a simple email when a normal person could do it in two seconds without a second thought
>benzos only help a little, still have the racing self-aware thoughts even when I'm on them
>no friends at all despite desperately wanting them
>can't even talk to my mom
>can't even watch a movie because all I can think about is how the actors look better and have more fulfilling lives than me
>the very thought of being in a room with people sends my heart racing
>I worry that people are judging the way my shadow looks whenever I'm outside so I always try to walk in the shade so they can't see it
>couldn't even finish college because I could never focus on the lecture--I was hyperconscious of what I was doing with my hands or legs at any given moment, worrying about people judging me
>whenever I'm sitting in a room with people I always compulsively need to be covering up part of my face with my hand
>underneath it all I am actually a very outgoing, sociable person and I have one or two days every few years when I can actually be myself and not feel anxious
>essentially in a prolonged fight-or-flight reaction all the time
>CBT, normal therapy, and exposure therapy have done nothing for me
>avoid anxiety-inducing situations because exposure to them doesn't result in me getting used to them and becoming calm the way it should, it just makes me more scared and nervous and this never wanes
>rarely leave my house as a result
>feel anxious even in my dreams so there is literally no escape
I get why some people think it's a meme but that's just not true. It hurts to hear that.
>>28845536
how do you feel about talking on the phone? it makes me extremely anxious, more so than talking to people in person
>>28845210
>None of them are illnesses until they start affecting your quality of life.
so from the beginning
>>28845725
It makes me really nervous, even if it's something trivial like scheduling an annual doctor's appointment. I have to ask my mom to make a lot of phone calls for me and it's just embarrassing.
The stupidest thing about therapists is that if you actually decide to get treatment for AvPD, they'll want to talk to you over the phone and won't let you talk by email. It's like a doctor telling a guy with a broken leg who can't walk that he'll fix his leg but first he has to run for a mile.
The worst part of it all is that I realize it's so irrational. I have no reason to be scared of calling customer fucking service. I will never see the guy on the other end of the line in my entire life. He's just doing his job, he wants to get home, and he doesn't care about me. I have no reason to feel terrified of him, and yet I do. Every single time, I'm terrified.
>pretty sure I have AVPD
>Honestly felt like the psychologist I saw didn't care about me and was annoyed
>First session literally only lasted 15 minutes
>Basically just told me to go to rehab first
I felt terrible. I wanted to cry. Even thinking about trying to open up again makes me incredibly anxious.
>>28845536
>>>28845725
I don't have it anywhere nearly as bad, but I feel for you.
The constant voice cracking, inability to maintain eye contact, mumbling, constant fidgeting and covering my face are what really get to me.
Everything you do is seen as weak and shy in the eyes of others.
>>28845899
same shit here, no matter how many times i make phone calls, i just can't get over the fear. my chest pounds every time i call the fucking pizza place
the worst part about this disorder is that everyone treats you like a retard after meeting you, i can't even do simple tasks in front of others
avpd ruined my life
I fucking hate being me, I look up to chads who can just do whatever the fuck they want with ease
I've got no social skills, I've got no actual skills, I've got nothing
I'm the most boring guy in the world
>go to AVPD forums
>posts riddled with "my friends this", "my girlfriend/boyfriend that"
>>28844854
Personality disorders are called personality disorders because your behavior interferes with your appropriate "adequate" functioning in the larger consensus culture.
Mental illness is only derived from a comparison to the dominant accepted norms of the current culture.
Usually it's from accumulated trauma which turns into learned helplessness.
>>28846739
People with AVPD or GAD or SAD (generally the same kind of shit) have overactive amygdala so the reaction to possibly threatening stimuli is always hypersensitive.
As ever, a good way to treat it is either drugs or exposure therapy or a combo of both.
>>28845899
>>28846097
>>28846122
>>28846553
I have it too, hard truth, the only thing that is going to fix it is repeated exposure to the feared stimulus, and even then you have to constantly keep it at bay.
>>28846694
JUST CHECKED FOR MYSELF
WHY DO THEY DO THIS?
>>28844854
A meme illness or a Tumblr illness (same difference) until the jews over at the DSM can crap out their sixth edition.
They've been pretty lenient with their rulings in the past several years (not to mention the removing homosexuality from the DSM scandal of the '80s), so don't act shocked when it finds its way in. I'm sure white privilege and affluenza will squeak its way in as well.
>>28846819
I have PTSD too though.
I've also NEVER had friend.
>>28845536
This was me
Holy lord this was me.
Please be OK anon. I know what the fuck you feel
>>28846855
Depends on the severity of the trauma.
Some people with PTSD will flip out completely because... the amygdala is insanely overactivated.
Some people with moderate anxiety will get panicky and anxious but they can learn to acclimate to it.
It all depends.
WHY DO THEY PRESCRIBE BENZOS WHEN ADDERAL OR ANY OTHER STIMULANT HEALS THIS SHIT!
>>28846867
How did you transform that you into the current you? Please help. I've tried so many things and every single time I've wound up worse off than before I even started.
>>28846929
Because benzos are... anti-anxiety drugs by definition.
>>28846949
Not that guy, but is this the cause of some kind of trauma? Do you feel suicidal?
>>28846926
I get incredibly anxious. A chill goes through my body and I kind of freeze up.
The most common way this happens is when people start yelling in the house. Even a loud TV with people yelling can set me off if it's muffled by the walls.
I also get terrible anxiety and complete loss of confidence when I screw somehow, like screwing something up at work or with someone I know.
That's not to say I have much self confidence to begin with. I can't even enjoy hobbies anymore because I feel like I'll piss people off and get them to hate me, so I just never do them. The only thing I do in my free time is smoke weed, listen to music and post on 4chan. That's literally all I've been doing for the past few years, other than work...
Can you get over personality disorders? Are they linked to brain chemistry or thought patterns
>>28846949
Anxiety meds.
I went against my mother's desires. She already lost a kid to the fucked up medical system of the 90s.
But I couldn't fucking take it, I had nothing left in me. I called up the family doctor and asked for an appointment.
When I got there I started just unloading in my untapped voice, I was shaking the entire time and told him that I cannot handle walking in my school halls and that I cannot trust anything anyone ever says to me and that I take everything as an insult even constructive criticism. I'm even aware it isn't insulting but my ego is destroyed. I can't talk to people anymore and I have trouble leaving my own home.
He prescribed me effexor. It made me feel drunk for the first week and I didn't stop, I heard the stories of idiots going in and off and expecting magic.
I went through with it and I felt awful because I decided to quit smoking in the same day.
Ever since then I have been living my life. So muh had happened that I can't put it in a single post. I have been taking these meds for a solid year now and I'm continuing the medication for another until I'm expected to go off.
Just fucking tell type doctor that nothing is working and you are done. You want formal Medication.
>>28844854
every personality disorder is a meme. psychiatrists are jewish normies, so if someone isn't like them, then they make up a disorder and medication for said disorder
>>28847032
>is this the cause of some kind of trauma
Nothing specific. I grew up without a father and was mildly picked on in school. Now this is the type of person I've become.
>Do you feel suicidal?
Dying is scary but desu this is not a life worth living--it's not much of a life at all. It's like I'm in limbo and I can't get out of it.
>>28847086
I've tried so many meds, bro. Effexor did nothing except make me shit blood for two months. Klonopin and Xanax help a little but I still have the same racing self-aware thoughts that I do when I'm off them. I'm still hyperconscious of everything I'm doing. Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Zyprexa, Paxil, and the rest eitther did nothing or just made me feel apathetic and still very anxious. I am losing hope, my dude.
>>28847086
Not the person you're replying to but I just started taking Effexor today. So far the side effects haven't been too bad: I feel kind of tense but I'm thinking that will subside. I'm hoping in the coming weeks it will make life a bit easier for me, because I basically have to choose between being engaged in the world around me and being responsible, or checking out and escaping and being able to connect with myself and my emotions and feel good about myself. It's been a balancing act that's never quite good enough to make me functional no matter how much pressure I put on myself.
>>28847243
Sid you bring up the blood shitting to your doctor? I feel like you are exaggerating and I hope you don't take offence.
>>28847359
Not exaggerating in the slightest, it's literally one of Effexor's side effects. Rare, apparently, but legitimate. I waited a while before telling my psychiatristbecause I was embarrassed of what she would think of mebut when I finally did she weaned me off it and switched me to something else.
>>28846949
>>28845536
I wasn't as bad as you, and I know this is probably going to sound like normie advice, but everything stems from insecurity. Make a list of all the things you're insecure about and try to change the ones you can, starting from the tiny things. My main worries were due to dressing or looking stupid, being unfit, living with my parents, etc. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that changing those things is easy, but there must be something that you can start with to get the snowball rolling; even if it's just fixing your posture or buying new shoes. It's a tough road, but after I got most of my shit sorted out a lot of my anxiety just went away on it's own. Good luck my friend, you'll definitely need it.
>tfw massive inferiority complex
>automatically assume everyone is better than me, even homeless junkies
>discourage myself from trying out anything because I'm convinced of being incapable of doing anything right
>constantly cringe in retrospect at anything I do or say
If there's no cure then it's not an illness, you're just a shitty human
>>28847694
Hard advice to follow when a large portion of your insecurity stems from physical traits that can't be altered.
>>28848377
You should still try to do eveything you can. If you;re beyond help though, then you're beyond help. Just try to take out as many normies as you can with you.
Humans are stupid.
Hated the drugs. Made me feel completely numb. Honestly, it was worse than having anxiety.
Meditation helps a lot. Not the kind where you're trying to achieve "enlightenment" but the think where you focus on your breath or something and try to not let your mind wander. Develops focus.
One of the most profound things that I learned is that everything is impermanent. Everything that exists only exists in the given moment, including thoughts, all those times being picked on, the horrible things said to your face and behind your back. Everything that goes through your brain is part of a stream on consciousness and you can teach yourself to step out of the stream when you need to. When you're in the stream, realizing that it's all impermanent and the thoughts will pass through. Just be aware and accept it.
Also exercise, in particular cardio. If I stop running, my thoughts always take a turn for the worse. Same with diet. If I eat shit, it affects how I feel.
>>28847047
your personality is dictated by your 'brain chemistry'. Avoidant personality disorder is just a fear of intimacy caused by emotional neglect at a very young age. A few years of seeing a good psychologist should help a lot for most people but if you want an immediate fix you need something that very strongly reduces fear. They do currently have 'anti fear' medication but the ones that don't cause heart problems are only in trials right now i believe.
>>28849842
>A few years of seeing a good psychologist should help a lot
This so fucking much.
I've been seeing my psychologist for 4 years now and it has helped me so much.
>>28846694
>>28846824
because they're insecure and it makes them feel slightly less so to include "normie achievements" in their posts.
most of them don't care or just aren't thinking about the people reading who will be bothered by them saying those things, and alot of the time it's exaggeration (online relationships) or just flat out lies as well.
imo avoid those forums though it's not going to be a big help.
>>28844854
being different isnt a disease. Just like there's no hyper-social disorder.
>>28850647
I mean, being hyper-social isn't a disorder, sure, but AvPD isn't characterised by being asocial either, it's more about being hypersensitive to what people think, and avoiding their attention as such. And there is an opposite to that, in histrionic personality disorder, where people get all their self worth from attention, and do ridiculous shit in order to get that attention, negative or positive.
