so i probably have social anxiety and i have to give a presentation on friday, which sparked the usual argument between me and my mom over me forcing myself to talk in front of people/to strangers because that apparently was how she became comfortable talking in front of people, but from how easily she approaches people I find it hard to believe she really gets how it feels for me, even though she keeps saying she understands how I feel. she compares my unwillingness to present/talk to strangers to her dislike of doing charts or being on call (she doesn't like it, but she forces herself to do it) whenever I tell her that I just can't force myself to do it sometimes, and she tells me I just need to force myself to do it, but I just can't. last night i couldn't fall asleep because I knew I would have to buy something from a stranger (who i find particularly scary because she said "do you talk?" to me on monday when i had to go up to her for the first time and didn't know what to say rrg) and today my mom is just like, "aren't you happy/proud you did it", and I was like "no that was terrrifying, i never want to do that again" and she was annoyed with me rrg she gets irritated at me for not being able to talk to strangers all the time and its just so frustrating when she wont help me ask them things (because she wants me to do it myself/force myself to do it) and also everything i say she somehow manages to turn on me rrgg ok vent over
Maybe you could try asking your mom to tell you about what it was like for her when she was afraid of talking in front of people. Sometimes people really do come a long way in that - one of my former teachers, who was very good at her job when I had her, literally threw up the first time she tried to talk in front of others. It's possible your mom's experience was similar to yours, and she just needs a reminder of what it was at that point. Or, maybe she really didn't experience the level of anxiety you are, and comparing your experiences will help her see that.
