Anxiety

[CassJ]

I've dealt with anxiety for many years now. It's mostly social anxiety. Sometimes it just gets old, you know? Constantly fearing what everything thinks about me. Thoughts in my mind oscillate between "Do they hate my hair? Do they hate my clothes? Am I annoying? Am I ugly?" and "They don't care enough to think about you. You may as well be invisible."

 

It's exhausting. I do everything alone because I feel like I don't have friends. I do have friends. Why do I convince myself that I don't? I feel rejected by everybody. I assume that everybody hates me so I act like I hate everybody else. I'm so uncomfortable with my thoughts.

 

I don't want to ignore my anxiety. I don't want to pretend like it's not there. That forces me to suppress all of my other emotions, which isn't what I want to do. Yet, the feelings of anxiety get so overwhelming sometimes.

 

Does it ever get better? I already talk to a counselor. She helps. But there's only so much that I can talk to her about for 1 hour once a week. I exist the other 167 hours of the week without a counselor to talk to.

 

It sucks to feel alone and it sucks to have social anxiety and feel alone.

 

I'm not sure what my exact point here is, so I guess I'm wondering if any of you guys have social anxiety? How do you cope with it when it feels too overwhelming?

[Blondie]

@CassJ Someone very close to me experiences this. They've told me about how exhausted they are by it too. Counselling definitely helps but also they have found by being 'kind' to themselves and accepting that it happens and being proud of themselves afterwards for having got through it.

 

Have you ever shared with your friends how you feel? They might be a huge help (and want to help) in reassuring you when you're feeling particularly low.

[Remi]

Hey @CassJ

 

Social anxiety sucks soooo much! You have to remember that it's this anxiety that is telling you these horrible things about and calling you negative things and trying to bring you down. You have to challenge that horrible voice and tell it it's lying to you...

 

You are not alone in this, and a lot of us battle with social anxiety. I like to give myself little challenges each day like talk to someone in a shop, or smile at a stranger on the street. Don't ignore your anxiety, recognise that it is a part of you. sometimes it is trying to tell us something, that we need to make a change in our life, to reduce stress, or be kinder to ourselves.

 

Try to give yourself a break, we're here for you.

 

-Remi