God how I wish I could go out in public without getting anxious and nervous and twitchy. Makes even the smallest errand a mountain out of a molehill. And I'm pretty sure any people I interact with can see I'm a nervous mess in a state of "flight or flight" and that puts a damper on basic social interaction. And then I'm berating myself for how terrible the trip out in public went for the next day, at least, nagging at myself for what I did wrong or what I could do better but I never improve on.
One thing to note: The symptoms of anxiety are hardly visible to an outside observer, unless you're shaking like an earthquake and flooding the room with sweat, condemning every nearby observer to an untimely death in the depths of your salty perspiration. Even if you do, here's another thing: People may register it, but they generally don't mind it. In fact, if they do register it, they might be wondering if there's a way to make you feel a bit more comfortable, and/or if it's something that they're doing which is making you feel anxious. In any case, one of the more important things is to try and not beat yourself up over what is an uncontrollable physiological response to a perceived threat.
I say "try" because i know very well that pretty much everything about anxiety is MUCH easier said than done, but it's worth a shot, right? I KNOW it's all too easy to get caught up in thoughts like "why do i feel like this about such a fucking harmless situation augh", with the answer being that it's tangentially related to something that was dangerous in some way that you might have experienced or learned. That's how our alarm center works, better safe than sorry. Works well on the African savannah, less so in modern life. So far, what i've gathered from my various therapists is that a good way to handle anxiety is to recognize it and its symptoms, acknowledge it for what it is (read: a harmless but possibly highly unpleasant sensation), and make yourself comfortable while it lasts. A thing i've heard more than once is that you ultimately have to learn to not be afraid of being afraid, if that makes sense.
Also, final note: It takes serious fucking courage to keep going in spite of the fear you're feeling. Ho-lee shit. I've social anxiety/phobia myself, but it's more narrow in scope, and to think that you're feeling that kind of fear by just going out in public
and you keep going blows my fucking mind. Courage isn't fearlessness, it's persistence in the face of fear. I wish my metaphorical balls were that big. :v
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Topic: Things that made you sad today thread. (Read 9770290 times)