No, I'm not talking about "socially awkward" as in some adorkable teenager like most people tend to associate with the phrase. I mean real social anxiety. The kind where I can't make plans of any type without a million worries and apprehensions. The kind where my stomach literally had stabbing pains in the hours before going out with a friend, where every small change in plans or uncertainty is enough to spiral me into anxiety- heart racing, quickened breathing, racing thoughts, trembling. In my head I know how stupid it sounds, that I shouldn't worry, but I can't help it. It has began happening in usual situations too, like in school. I've begun to develop a bit of a stutter, mixing words around, and losing track of my thoughts mid-sentence. It's bothering me a lot. I've had symptoms of anxiety since at least summer, before it mainly focused on dysphoria, but within the past few months moving to everyday stress and social situations. I've even had a few incidents similar to panic attacks. It's really frustrating to me to have to deal with my brain blowing everything out of proportion. If anyone has any tips for reducing anxiety, I would love to hear them. I know of breathing excercises already but any tips would be great.
Have you talked to your parents or school counselor? A certain amount of anxiety is pretty normal at your age, but if it's really disrupting your day-to-day functioning, it might be something to see a therapist about. You may also want to look into meditation practices. That's something simple you can learn on your own that can have a profound impact on anxiety, and takes only a few minutes here or there.
I used to have the same problem, though it wasn't as intense as what you're going trough. But I know what you mean when you talk about stuttering and even literally shaking with fear when your plans change. Social events were hell for me and I would use every excuse not to go, just to avoid having to deal with those kind of situations. Even seeing my friends was a problem sometimes because I kept thinking of everything that could go wrong and it would stress me out so much that I simply couldn't enjoy my time with them. The way I changed it was to convince myself of several things. Firstly that, whatever happens, my friends will always be there to look out for me. Even if I do something wrong or if I don't act the way I'm supposed to, they won't mind and they will keep on supporting me, just like yours will support you. It's a small thing but it helps : if you don't know what to do in a new situation, just trust that your friends will be there to make you feel better and to help you with it. Another thought I found helpful was to realise that everyone feels anxiety at some point in their life. Nobody goes trough life without any sort of worries. So everyone more or less understands what you are going trough, depending on what they've experienced. Maybe some of the people you live with are still dealing with it and are just better at dealing with it. So you are not weird because you feel like this and you are not the only one. It will not last forever : you'll learn to cope, I'm sure of it. And you mustn’t be afraid to talk about it because chances are the person you'll talk to will have gone trough the same thing. Some more practical advice I could give you would be to go trough what you want to say and do before you are confronted with a difficult situation, like talking to someone you don't know. Rehearsing your movement and your "lines" in your mind can help because it gives you something to fall back on if your mind goes blanc when you panic. It gives me a feeling of control over what I do, even if thing don't go the way I planned : somehow I feel more prepared. So there you go. Sorry for the long answer I don't know if that will help but I hope you'll find something useful in my ramble ^^
Chip: thanks, I'll have to get back into meditation. And I'm seeing a therapist at the end of the month for the first time, so hopefully that will be of some relief. Eolwen: Wow, that advice really helped. I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks for making me feel understood!
I feel like this all the time. For me I think it started in high school, and now it is very intense. I may not be giving you the best advice on what I am about to say, but I feel like expressing myself right now. The way I look at it, mental health stuff is mostly BS. It's just labels for behaviors, labels we give so we have an excuse to believe what we want to believe, to attempt to understand things which were not meant to be understood. I've been to therapists, taken meds, all that stuff. To me it's all BS, but if it makes you feel better then why not? You should do whatever makes you feel better. Maybe I'm the one that's full of BS. That is a big possibility. Anyway, I know exactly how you feel. Good luck.
