Dating, Social Anxiety, And The Wussy Factor
Because of the fact that social anxiety has run the show for the past thirty years, I find myself at the point where I am lacking in some of the most basic life skills. I won’t go into detail about this (I have in previous posts), but, suffice it to say, I am still a novice when it comes to many areas of social interaction – Particularly when it comes to dating.
Social Anxiety, Dating, And The Bar Scene
An obvious way to meet other singles is the bar scene. Well, unless you suffer from social anxiety, that is. Personally, I shy away from singles bars because my anxiety completely overwhelms me. And I’m not talking about just a little here – its full-fledged panic.
Dating And Social Anxiety
Dating and social anxiety don’t mix. Personally speaking, my anxiety was bad enough under the best of circumstances. By introducing the element of dating, my fear grew exponentially – it was enough to turn my world completely upside-down.
Conversation Starters - Everyone Has Their Insecurities
Deep down, I’m not really any different than the average person. It’s taken me a long time to be able to see this. After spending most of my life feeling like no one could ever be as strange, quiet, and anxious as I was, I now realize that I’m not so far off the mark when it comes to having an average personality.
We all have our idiosyncrasies – that’s part of being human, I suppose. In fact, I consider myself lucky sometimes – it could be worse. Really, it could be. Read the rest of this post »
Eye Contact for Shy People - Tips
I hate making eye contact.
There, now that that’s out of the way, I’d like to talk about ways to get around this absolutely critical part of non-verbal communication.
It’s said that non-verbal communication such as eye contact, body language, and facial expressions pave the way for conversation to take place. In other words, before a word is spoken, there is a whole lot of non-verbal communication going on below the surface. Most of us don’t even think about it. Read the rest of this post »
Lack of Social Life
Social anxiety disorder has left me with a complete lack of social life (talk about stating the obvious).
Ok, that is an understatement. I only mention it because it’s really something that I regret ever experiencing. Even though I have suffered through SA my entire life, I’ve always, secretly, wished for a decent circle of friends and some sort of social life. Read the rest of this post »
Anxiety Can Ruin Your Appearance
If you suffer from social anxiety disorder, chances are, your anxiety is written all over your face. Personally, I always try to hide it, but this becomes impossible in some social situations. Most people don’t really know what anxiety looks like, therefore, they are more likely to regard me as an anti-social, pissed-off, mean, cruel, little man - obviously someone to avoid. Read the rest of this post »
Social Anxiety Fatigue
Social anxiety fatigue is a real condition. Ok, maybe not medically speaking (or is it?), but I have experienced this phenomenon many times. For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll try to explain. Keep in mind, however, that this is just my own experience. Read the rest of this post »
Defeating social anxiety a little at a time - 6 years later
In 2002, (as social anxiety tightened its grip on every aspect of my life) I quit my high paying, corporate job out of desperation. It wasn’t a decision that I made lightly – after all, this was my career and my livelihood. I was employed by that company for 4 years. Once the deed was done, I felt completely lost – as though I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life. Yet, deep down, I somehow knew that the decision was the right one. Read the rest of this post »
An 8-hour social anxiety experiment
Here’s something you can try on your own. The first time I did this, I was amazed at the difference it made.
Pick a day when you are feeling good. This is important because, if you have things on your mind, or you have just endured some negative experience, this won’t work. Fortunately, everyone eventually has a day where they feel just a little better than normal. I’m convinced that this has a lot to do with our body and brain chemistry. Read the rest of this post »