Sudden overthinking.
Yo...im 15 and im having a sudden burst of overthinking for a month now. Here is the story:
Everything was perfectly normal about a month ago. I was the funny, chill guy that people just felt comfortable being around. That was me. But on April 3rd, specifically, we had some guests stay over for a bit. Everything was going fine until one morning, my brother told me they were about to head out and I should go say goodbye. I said "cool" and went in. The second I stepped into the room, this weird, overwhelming wave of anxiety hit me out of nowhere. It's not like me at all. Suddenly, I was hyper aware of everything...how my hands looked, what I was saying, even trying to make sure I didn't swallow my spit while talking. I literally lost the ability to hold a conversation, so I just went quiet and gave them short, dry answers until they left.
I spent the rest of that day alone in my room, trying to figure out why I was so tense. I thought it was just a one-off thing, but that night, it got even weirder. I caught myself overthinking how I was sleeping. My brother was asleep next to me, he couldn't even see me yet I was trying to "act" like I was sleeping naturally.
It's been over a month now, and I'm still stuck in this. Just talking normally feels exhausting. I'm constantly worried about talking too much, or not enough, or people judging my jokes. My social life has become a total nightmare.
And a little note: This anxiety completely vanishes when I'm talking to strangers. But around my friends, my family, or anyone I actually know? I feel like I've lost my spontaneity. I'm just "acting" like myself, and it feels so fake.
So...has anyone else experienced a sudden shift like this? It feels like I forgot how to be "me" overnight and now everything is manual instead of automatic.