Are You Social Phobic?

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stepout

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Francis writes:

I have just launched Step Out Ireland which arranges social activities and workshops for people suffering from social anxiety. Currently the events run in Dublin [events at Facebook link below] however the goal is to expand the groups all over the country as I have encountered far too many people already that have no social interactions in their lives other than their family or neighbors.

For a country that pride ourselves on inclusiveness and making people feel welcome there are far too many people in a state of isolation which can eventually manifest itself into depression and other mental health issues.

I would really appreciate it if you could share the website www.stepoutireland.com and also the facebook page that has the upcoming events

Step Out Ireland

Step Out Ireland (Facebook)

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51 thoughts on “Are You Social Phobic?”

    1. Charles

      “…have encountered far too many people already that have no social interactions in their lives”. I reckon there’s more than a handful of Broadsheet commentators could do with a good aul dose of positive social interaction and fresh air beyond the keyboard.

        2. fluffybiscuits

          “Seriously some people do find that online is spineless haters than in real life…such is the nature of the beast”

          Sentence doesnt flow too well with that phrase in it

        3. MoyestWithExcitement

          Holy Jayzus. I thought everyone here was a 9to5er doing some procrastinating but there are some properly emotional fupp ups trying to validate their delusional sense of self importance alright.

  6. Mr. T.

    This is an increasing problem as society becomes more and more individualistic. People get too used to being on their own or being too independent.

  10. meadowlark

    This is a lovely idea. I’ve grown apart from friends who are still studying or working abroad, while I am a stay-at-home mam. It is so much harder to make friends as an adult. I’d love to see something like this near me .

    2. Dόn Pídgéόní

      There are/is some/one really nasty pieces of work on here all of a sudden. i think someone isn’t getting any.

  11. Skeptik

    Good idea. Always hammering away on a keyboard, on social media or commenting on websites can leave people bereft of human interaction.
    Oh wait…

  12. francis - Step Out Ireland

    Hi everyone, Thank you very much for all of the feedback its great to see. I hope some of you will think about joining the group and attending the meetings as everyone is welcome. And to address one of the comments above, the age profile is varied between 20’s-60’s so the diversity is great!! Thanks again for all the feedback!

  13. John Paul Francis McGinty

    Seems like a great idea. However I disagree with some of the fundamentals its based on. No everyone that do not have a social circle outside of family and neighbors has social problems. I think Ireland in general has a social problem. Having traveled around the world so many places, Ireland I have always found to be the hardest to make new friends. I have a lot of foreign friends and they ALL say the same. None of them knows Irish people beyond exchanging pleasantries and little chats. That says a lot about. We pretend to be friendly, but do we really understand what the word means?

    1. Dog Gone. IT

      I completely agree

      Unless there’s drink involved, dropping e’s and/or some maudlin ballad about an oul lad who hates brits

  14. Spaghetti Hoop

    While agreeing that this is a great initiative, isn’t the wording a bit condescending to a society that does tend to be a bit too proud to admit they are lonely, anxious, feeling isolated? Organised social activities are great for widening your circle of friends (e.g. the Meet-up groups, book clubs, Men’s Sheds etc.) but if they were all labelled ‘for lonely people’ they would never have been successful as they are.

    2. MoyestWithExcitement

      Well, I reckon ‘I have social anxiety’ is probably a lot easier to admit to others than ‘I’m lonely’. One implies you’ve a medical problem you’re not at fault for, the other implies you’ve messed up somewhere along the line with your actions. People with social anxiety are probably not going to go to an organised meet up with strangers because, well, they’ve social anxiety. An organised meet up specifically for people with the same problem as them might be a good idea.

  15. John Paul Francis McGinty

    holey moley. with people like these commentators around, im tempted to become a ‘social phobic’ also

  18. Dόn Pídgéόní

    I do when it’s new people mysteriously turning up to attack other people on here who seem to somehow have an extensive knowledge of people’s backgrounds. It cowardly and weird. At least have the balls to say it using your normal logon.

  21. Casey

    This started out so lovely with all the “fair dues” in the comments, so many I thought I was on the wrong site. Then we got back on track with the griping and the back-biting and one-upmanship. Ah d’interwebs, sure it is amazing people get anxiety at the thought of meeting people in real life when they only see their mouldy side online.

  22. mcgenius

    I know the bloke in the stock photo that’s been used here. He’ll be chuffed that it’s being used for doing a bit of good.

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