Cliff Notes: A mind that's too energized and lacking confidence

Social anxiety is something that I've experienced, to some degree, for a large part of my life, even before my Bipolar diagnosis. At heart, I'm an introvert, and being around crowds of people has always garnered bad feelings inside myself.

Once I was diagnosed with Bipolar this got worse, I started to lose control of my thought processes and had a hard time making it day to day.

Eventually I had a huge eye-opener: I realized that I was self-medicating with alcohol, and that perhaps I needed a dosage increase, and so I saw my doctor and increased my levels of medication a touch. Within a week the social anxiety that had plagued me for the greater part of three years was gone, and since that time I rarely experience it.

What happened? First of all, the medication that I take is an anti-psychotic, a medication that is meant to slow down the thought processes of the mind. By increasing my dosage I actually "slowed down" my brain. This gave me a greater ability to think clearly and slowly evaluate social situations before reacting, something that I couldn't do well as I wanted before the dosage increase.

That was it: making the conscious recognition that I needed a dosage change again and again until I found a balance that actually. . . worked. This came from an awareness of my own habits and my own needs, something that should be done pro-actively by people with mental illness.

All too often people with anxiety make the mistake of giving in and believing that their negative thoughts are something true about themselves. They understate the significance of the chemical imbalance that exists in their mind, and the ability of different medications to bring about a stable state.

But, in addition, anxiety is also closely tied to self-confidence (the behavioral aspect of this disorder). People who have little self-confidence, are more likely to feel socially anxious when in a crowd. This is something that seems, to me, to be only dealt with through experience, through talking problems out with others, and by actively seeking out answers as much as we can.

Thought I'd flesh that post out, I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts!