For me, it feels like there is some kind of invisible shield between me and the person I am talking to. It stops me from reacting naturally. I overthink everything, hold back what I actually want to say and end up acting like a filtered version of myself.
Does social anxiety feel like that for anyone else?
For me, I constantly say “yeah” or “okay” smile way too much and barely say what I actually think. It feels like my brain switches into autopilot and I just try to get through the interaction without doing anything wrong.
I am curious how social anxiety actually feels for other people.
For me, I constantly say “yeah” or “okay”, smile way too much and barely say what I actually think. It feels like my brain switches into autopilot and I just try to get through the interaction without doing anything wrong.
I am curious how social anxiety actually feels for other people.
Whenever I get an important task, I immediately feel anxious and stressed, even before I start. Responsibility almost feels like a threat.
I want to become someone who can handle pressure without freaking out internally. If you used to be like this and became more resilient, what actually helped?
Whenever I have to memorize something or study for an exam, I feel this intense irrational fear and resistance. It does not matter if it is for university or something I want to learn privately.
It honestly feels like my hands are tied. Part of me wants to start, but my whole body seems to fight it and pushes me toward doing literally anything else.
At this point I am pretty sure it is anxiety blocking me, not laziness.
What actually helps with this?
Ich bin mit meiner Abschlussarbeit schon relativ weit und könnte sie diesen Monat fertigstellen. Parallel bewerbe ich mich auf Vollzeitstellen, bekomme aktuell aber viele Absagen und weiß noch nicht genau, wie es danach beruflich weitergeht.
Deshalb überlege ich, die Abgabe bewusst noch ein paar Monate hinauszuzögern. Dann könnte ich meinen Werkstudentenjob behalten, weiter Geld verdienen und mich in Ruhe auf Vollzeitstellen bewerben, statt meinen Abschluss jetzt schnell durchzuziehen und danach möglicherweise erstmal ohne Stelle dazustehen.
Gibt es Nachteile dabei, bewusst noch ein Semester eingeschrieben zu bleiben? Oder würdet ihr den Abschluss einfach so schnell wie möglich machen?
I have been constantly daydreaming for as long as I can remember, probably since childhood. It happens automatically whenever I am bored, alone or listening to music and sometimes I can disappear into my own head for hours. At this point it feels less like normal imagination and more like a habit I never grew out of. Real life often feels less interesting than whatever is happening in my head, which makes it hard to focus or actually be present.
Did anyone here grow up doing the same thing and eventually get it under control?
I am slowly realizing how much of my life is controlled by fear, and I am sick of it.
My friends seem to move forward without making every decision feel like a fucking crisis. They apply for jobs, take opportunities and just do things. I overthink everything until I either avoid it completely or choose whatever feels least scary. At some point I stopped building a life around what I want and started building one around what I am afraid of.
Romantic relationships get fucked up by the same pattern. As soon as I genuinely like someone and things could become serious, my brain starts looking for an exit. Getting rejected or hurt suddenly feels so threatening that I would rather cut someone off myself. Then they are gone, I miss them and realize I sabotaged something I actually wanted.
I have been anxious for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid I was scared of embarrassing myself and constantly worried about how people saw me. Years later I still get intimidated way too easily, struggle to defend myself and assume other people are somehow better equipped for life than I am.
What really scares me now is seeing the long term consequences. I could have a decent degree and enough opportunities, yet still end up doing fuck all with them because I was too scared to act. Meanwhile people around me keep progressing and I am stuck fighting the same shit in my own head.
I have tried routines, forcing myself into uncomfortable situations and trying to reason with the anxiety. Somehow I keep ending up in the same place. Therapy is difficult to access where I live, and I have no fucking clue anymore what is actually supposed to change something this deeply ingrained.
I am tired of fear having more influence over my life than anything I actually want.
I think I have finally realized that I have been an extremely anxious person for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid I was scared of everything, embarrassed easily and constantly worried about what other people thought.
Over time I started finding explanations for why I became this way, like blaming my parents, my upbringing or certain experiences. They probably contributed, but at some point I also have to admit that I am the common denominator and that I keep reinforcing the same patterns myself.
The problem is that I genuinely do not know how to change. I try to become more confident, take risks and stop letting fear control my decisions, but sooner or later I fall back into the same behavior.
Meanwhile I watch other people build careers, relationships, get married, travel and actually enjoy their lives while most of my decisions seem to be based on avoiding fear rather than moving toward something I want.
It is frustrating because I feel like I have the potential to do much more with my life, but knowing that has never been enough to change anything.
Has anyone here actually changed after being fearful for most of their life? What finally helped?
Has anyone here been extremely introverted with strong social anxiety and improved by deliberately talking to strangers on a regular basis? I mean starting small conversations, asking questions or simply forcing yourself to interact more often. Did repeated exposure actually make social situations feel normal over time, or did something else help more?
Has anyone here been extremely introverted with strong social anxiety and improved by deliberately talking to strangers on a regular basis? I mean starting small conversations, asking questions or simply forcing yourself to interact more often. Did repeated exposure actually make social situations feel normal over time, or did something else help more?
Has anyone here been extremely introverted with strong social anxiety and improved by deliberately talking to strangers on a regular basis? I mean starting small conversations, asking questions or simply forcing yourself to interact more often. Did repeated exposure actually make social situations feel normal over time, or did something else help more?
Has anyone here been extremely introverted with strong social anxiety and improved by deliberately talking to strangers on a regular basis? I mean starting small conversations, asking questions or simply forcing yourself to interact more often. Did repeated exposure actually make social situations feel normal over time, or did something else help more?
I have been wondering where low self esteem really comes from. Is it mostly shaped by childhood, bullying, rejection, constantly comparing yourself to others, or can it develop without any obvious cause? For people who struggled with it, what do you think created it in your case?
I have been wondering where low self esteem really comes from. Is it mostly shaped by childhood, bullying, rejection, constantly comparing yourself to others, or can it develop without any obvious cause? For people who struggled with it, what do you think created it in your case?
I have been wondering where low self esteem really comes from. Is it mostly shaped by childhood, bullying, rejection, constantly comparing yourself to others, or can it develop without any obvious cause? For people who struggled with it, what do you think created it in your case?
I’m starting to realize that a lot of my problems come back to the same thing. I struggle to speak up for myself, defend myself when someone makes a stupid comment and I get intimidated way too easily. In the moment I usually freeze or stay quiet, then later I replay everything and think about what I should have said. Has anyone actually changed this? What helped you become more assertive and stop being so easily intimidated?
I constantly adapt to whoever I am with. My personality, tone and behavior change depending on the person, and after doing this for so long I genuinely do not know who I am anymore. It feels like I am constantly abandoning myself just to fit the situation. Has anyone managed to stop doing this and develop a stable sense of self?
I almost always speak in a quiet, muffled voice, especially outside because I am afraid other people might hear me. Even in comfortable settings I still speak too softly and unclearly. It feels like I have trained myself to take up as little space as possible. Has anyone managed to change this?
TLDR: Whenever I get closer to someone romantically, I start feeling constantly tense and overwhelmed and eventually get a strong urge to cut them off. After ending contact, I usually miss them and regret it.
Whenever I 21M start talking to someone with serious romantic intentions, everything feels fine at first. After a while though, I suddenly get this strong urge to end the contact completely.
While talking to them, there is this constant tension in the background. It feels like stress, inner restlessness and the feeling that I am somehow doing something wrong. I start feeling overwhelmed even when nothing bad is actually happening.
Eventually the urge becomes strong enough that I cut contact. The strange part is that once they are gone, I start missing them.
This has happened more than once and I do not really understand what the feeling is or why closeness seems to trigger so much stress.
Has anyone experienced something similar?