Social Anxiety

Social Anxiety

I am not a snob.  I am not rude.  I have social anxiety.

People with social anxiety are often dismissed by others as being "stuck up".  They often loose friends because they bail on social outings at the last minute.  It is not because we don't want to go.  We try very hard to get the courage up to go, usually up to the last minute.  When my kids were younger, I remember other mothers would say I was a bad parent because I didn't make it to every activity. It was an extremely stressful time.

 As I got older, it was just easier to limit friendships.  I also stopped accepting most invitations, because then I didn't stress out over trying not to disappoint anyone.  My social circle got smaller, and so did my world.  I had a friend tell me one time that if I stopped socializing I would disappear.  She was right, I did.  What I should have done was tell my friends why I was the way I was.  I had social anxiety.  I guess i thought it was better to be thought of as a rude, snobby person, then to admit I had a problem that I had no control over. 

I am changing that crazy way of thinking because I want to rejoin life.  The more I give in to my anxiety, the harder it becomes to get over it.

Life begins outside our comfort zone.  For someone with social anxiety, that sucks.  It is also the only way to overcome it.  Take it one breath at a time.  Start small but keep going.  The first step is to tell your friends.  This is what I am going to do.

If you don't have social anxiety, but you know someone who fits this description, ask them.  Don't push them away, help them join life.