This weekend my parents are entertaining some of my out-of-town relatives. For years it’s been kind of an unofficial tradition on the Labor Day weekend. We don’t always congregate at my parent’s house; we alternate each year between three or four different households. Fortunately, this year I didn’t have to travel too far.

Yesterday, in lieu of a traditional backyard barbecue, we decided to visit a local restaurant for dinner - all 21 of us! The whole thing was pretty uneventful except for the fact that we drew a lot of attention to ourselves when we arrived. I suppose this place hadn’t seen that many customers walking through the front door in sometime. Although I felt everyone was staring at us (about 10 other tables), it didn’t really affect me much - at least, not as much as it would have years ago.

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Im going to take a break from talking about conversation techniques to address an issue that has been nagging me for some time. It has to do with happiness, basically.

Now, I wouldnt know happiness if it bit me in the¦well, you know. Furthermore, I wouldnt really know how to handle it should it ever make an appearance. Yes, I know its hard to believe, but I cant imagine ever being truly happy. (more…)

Ive always believed that stress is a silent killer, and that my social anxiety creates much more stress than is necessary. Compared to an average, non-SA, person, I have always felt that I torture myself with thoughts and feelings that the average person doesnt have to deal with. Hence, when it comes to my physical health, there may be cause for concern. (more…)

Lets face it: Human beings have limitations, both physically and mentally. Regardless of who we are and how talented we might be, we all have finite resources in which to handle everything that life throws at us. When a good portion of my thoughts are squandered on something as powerful, yet meaningless, as the social anxiety thought cycle, there is, sometimes, precious little left over in which to handle day-to-day life. (more…)

While browsing through You-Tube looking for social anxiety type videos (many of the personal video blogs are quite interesting), I came across a clip of, what appears to be a guy with SA, being put on the spot by David Letterman.

Now, one could automatically assume that this individual had social anxiety disorder because of how nervous he looked, the fact that he didnt smile, and how he turned down Daves offer to play some audience participation game. However, after thinking about it for a bit, Im not so sure that we can assume he had SA. (more…)

For many years I felt as though I was simply destined for failure. I mean failure in everything, not just socially, but in every aspect of life, love, and success. Try as I might, I could not shake the feeling that there was some mysterious force steering me towards that ultimate outcome. (more…)

It is common knowledge that roughly 4-7 percent of the population suffer from social anxiety. If this figure is accurate, you would assume that this would be noticeable in public - but Ive never been able to do this. Everyone looks perfectly normal. You dont see 7% of the people in a mall, on a bus, or at a public event, walking with their head down, avoiding eye contact, or blushing. Ive consciously tried to look for the classic signs in people, but havent had much luck. (more…)