Social anxiety exposure practice - Halloween night
Over the past few years, I have built a list of exposure tasks that I engage in. I generally perform these according to the emotional state I’m in at the time. However, I always manage to do something each day. For me, that’s critical, because if I let things slide, then I’ll feel like doing less the next day.
The list varies from easy to incredibly difficult. Keep in mind that the degree of perceived difficulty may differ from person to person.
Such tasks include: Asking a stranger for the time, starting a conversation with a checkout girl, taking public transit, phoning a friend, etc… The tasks can be as simple as going for a walk or as difficult as addressing a group of people (I want to do this someday).
Keep in mind that this is not me. This is not my personality. Where some people think nothing of striking up a conversation with others, or being made the center of attention, this is not me. It’s an uphill battle that takes a whole lot of determination and effort.
Last night was one of those intermediate to high challenges. I volunteered to hand out candy to the kids for Halloween at my mother’s house. This created a fair amount of anxiety for me because you never know who is going to ring the bell next. And it’s not like you can just open the door and throw candy in their bag without at least saying something.
Yes, just like most things in life, there is a certain social component to this.
I don’t mind the kids so much. They’re simply there for the candy. A simple, “Hi there” and drop the treat in the bag is all that’s required. It’s the parents that show up at the door with very young kids in tow that intimidate me. They always seem to have a need to start a conversation. A simple, “hello, nice night,” just won’t do. They are intent on getting into more serious conversations while the kids admire the pumpkins and decorations.
This is a classic example of how some people send my SA through the roof and others I’m just fine with.
One Response to “Social anxiety exposure practice - Halloween night”
Hi Drew, I know what it feels like, I have problems with certain people in certain situations, for instance a person that I see as an authority (boss, professional,.. in that range), it also depends at the place where I am, for example at a party, if you are kind of getting everybody’s attention, etc.
Is amazing, sometimes I feel so well, “normal” that I don’t understand why am I going through this, of course, I know the origins of my Social Anxiety.
Right now I have a job with computers, have a healthy lifestyle, and stoped taking medications, I used to take Paxil, hated it. I feel much better now and I’m trying to find better ways to overcome my Social Anxiety.
Leave a Reply