NismoNY

I suffer from anxiety too but it's not social anxiety. I suffer from health anxiety and it was triggered when my older brother was diagnosed with a condition that changed (read as ruined) his life when he was 21. This was 17 years ago. Now I have a constant OCD about constantly checking myself and doing "tests" to see if I'm getting this disease too. I can relate because anxiety, no matter what type it is, makes you feel completely trapped and consumes your whole life. Anxiety is a beast and the physical manifestations of prolonged anxiety actually mimick some nasty diseases which make me spiral out of control.

I'm seeing a therapist for my health anxiety (I DO NOT BELIEVE IN MEDS FOR THIS) and she's working on Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which consists of Exposure and Response therapy. I can't vouch for its effectiveness yet as I just started CBT but she confirms, and so has everyone else I talked to, that CBT is THE way to cure anxiety, no matter what kind of anxiety it is. I suggest you look into it. I'm sure it'll help you.

I concur on the gym. I used to be very self conscious before. I took on weight lifting 5 years ago and started powerlifting 2 years ago. I put a lot of time into the gym and it's tough when you work a 9-5 but when you see results (and when OTHERS see results) it's a high like no other. Not only does that give you the confidence but it gives you the motivation to keep lifting harder. I would say that am pretty big built but I put the work in and am self taught. Never had a trainer but always looked up best practices and such online. You'd be surprised how many people "lift" with **** form. Anyway, look into the gym. You will not only increase your confidence but you'll improve your health. Don't forget anxiety can wreak havoc on our health too