Hey guys,

I would appreciate a bit of feedback on this post, I have a blood disorder called ITP and have to take a course of steroids as part of it to cure it. As part of it it means that i'm on such a high dose that i cannot drink alcohol, the social lubricant, this i feel makes me very self concious of others and myself. Also, the medication also induces anxiety and nervousness in me, i.e. in general less confidence. Now i've been out and tried a few things, and i seem to be getting poor results . I would appreciate anything advice that people can give me to kind of be more comfortable socially, and before you say it drinking is definitely not an option lol!

Thanks in advance,
d-man

As much as you will probably hate what I'm going to say: You have to go out more.
You always get poor results in the beginning. It's normal. There's no such thing as the magic PUA pill.
The self-consciousness is something that comes from the inside. Your medication probably amplifies your feelings, and thus it is necessary to get in a positive state. Being sober while the people around you are drunk may be boring and irritating, but if you're in a good state, you can have a great time as well.
The times that I had most fun going out, were also the times that I didn't drink much because I was constantly having fun etc.

My tip: If you go out, go out early when the people aren't yet drunk, and then game away. You're advantage is that you can practice your skills the whole night, because there's no way you're gonna get wasted. Take your disadvantages, flip them over, and see the advantage they give you. Now go game away!

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I'm new to this whole thing, but I gotta say I admire you for even getting out there. I was on prednisone for a long time--not huge doses--but it made me so uncomfortable with myself and other people that I couldn't even think of picking up girls, or even new friends. That drug f***s you up, big time, and the fact that you can think about PU while you're on it probably means you naturally have great inner game. I don't really have any good advice for you, except pump-up music before going out, working out when you have the energy (I know prednisone totally sapped my energy when I was on it), and go out with fun friends--when you're having a ton of fun with your friends, your social anxiety will fade a little. And keep going out! Chat with the bartenders when you can and remember their names, so you'll always know at least one person if/when you go out alone. Just doing that is pretty helpful--it makes it feel more like going to a friend's house, and less like going into a scary, loud, strange environment. That's a big one for me--if I know the person tending bar, I'm immediately more at ease when I walk in.

Just reading some of the anxiety issues you guys deal with makes mine seem like nothing. Thanks I guess

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