Reddit reviews Dying of Embarrassment: Help for Social Anxiety and Phobia

This book addresses this directly

1. Read Markway's book Dying of Embarrassment: Help for Social Anxiety and Phobia. It WILL help take the edge off your suffering.
   
   
2. At least speak to a doctor about your symptoms. You may need medications to calm your shattered nerves.
   
   
3. There's a ton of info at this website. Try to clarify your diagnosis and practice some form of relaxation techniques daily.

I understand your concern. Here's a different way to think about it, though: right now, you don't have much social support to help you through problems that come up. If you use these sessions to develop social skills and form better social relationships, those relationships can help you through problems that come up in the future. But if you don't use the sessions now, maybe you'll use them up when some other problem comes up, and it will help you cope with that. But then you won't have any left for the future, and you won't have the sorts of social relationships you want to help you cope with them.

So that's another way of thinking about it that may or may not encourage you to seek out individual therapy. Another option is to use a book and basically try "therapy on yourself." This book, [Dying of Embarrassment],(http://www.amazon.com/Dying-Embarrassment-Social-Anxiety-Phobia/dp/1879237237/ref=pd_rhf_cr_s_cp_3_R3P5) is very well reviewed and is specifically designed for people who are working through it on their own, so it may be worth checking out. It's based on the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and it only costs $15 or so. If that sounds like it might be helpful for you, give it a try. I think you'd be surprised how much having a book to guide you through, and using the book to help you schedule in the things you're going to try, can help keep you accountable and make sure you don't give in to that voice that tells you you can't do it.