ONTD

I can't see the vid cause I'm at work, but from the gif I'm taking it as knowing that you can leave makes you feel better? Cause that's me. I've been having issues in crowded places/events/meetings when I know I am stuck there, but once I know, ok, I can leave at any time, it calms me down.

This is definitely true, when my social anxiety really became a problem my doctor told me to leave if I started really feeling awful, and yeah having that knowledge does make me feel better.

That doesn't work though.

ia

mte

ia. my sister and my mom don't get it at all.

IA.

yup. I'm not asking for special treatment and kid gloves. just stop focusing on me/giving me a hard time/pushing the issue if I obviously seem uncomfortable.

It recent years I have started just telling people. "I have anxiety. I'm feeling really anxious, sorry bro gotta chill for a bit." and if they don't get it, that's their bad.

I agree. My dad and i have it and my mom just doesnt get it at all. The other week i had to go to dinner with my boyfrie ds extended family whom ive never met and i was SO nervous. My mom thought i was over reacting.

mte

my mom knows i have a hard time with that shit yet she'll put me in those situations on purpose and give me a run down of what i did wrong after

I was diagnosed when I was 16 but had been dealing with it since I was 4. Up until I was 23 (last year) I would always blame everything on my social phobia. It wasn't until I was taking a Group Dynamics class for my master's that I realized that it shouldn't be my leading point and I shouldn't always be using it as my crutch. I still deal with it on a daily basis but it was a huge turning point that a year of therapy had never been able to give me (though I <3 therapy).

IA

he lost some weight, looks so skinny

Aw, how did it go?

hey kudos for you for even going! usually i get so scared that i end up bowing out and not even going to things with large groups of people.

just prepare really well, practise A LOT.

I always dose up on rescue remedy about 20 minutes before.

this is probably not helpful, but i always feel i do a better job when i feel like i don't actually care about the presentation. some of my best presentations (and i am a terrible presenter because of anxiety) have been for classes where i'm just like, "fuck it i'm gonna go up there, spit some words out, and then sit down"
also helpful is if you have a supportive friend, person in the class who, if you freeze up or start stuttering/etc, you can look to. sometimes just having someone smile and nod at you when you are freaking out is really helpful.

Presentations do suck and I had a crippling fear of giving presentations until i started teaching this year (which I was not prepared for beforehand in my grad program, I was just told to show up for this intro psych class when i got my assignment), and now I have to give an hour long lecture 3 times a week. The best way to approach it is if you're telling your friend a story, or you're just having a conversation you know really well (as one sided as it sounds) and you're just trying to teach your friend the basics of what you're presenting. Starting with a joke or a question at the beginning of your presentation will help your audience look and feel less scary too, because they will laugh and be more engaged, if that will make you feel better.

Uggghhh presentations. Ive broken out in hives while giving one before lol

First of all, when you get up in front of everyone breathe for a second and gather yourself. The biggest hurdle for me is always remembering to breathe and not just start word vomiting.

Also, sometimes this isn't always appropriate, but I try to get a laugh out of the audience. It makes me feel better/more sure of what I'm presenting, even if it does absolutely nothing for the presentation itself.

I always try to remember that time feels longer when you're in front of people. If you need to take a moment to breathe and collect your thoughts, it might feel like 2 minutes but it's really only a second - and no one will notice it.

Also really know what you're talking about. That way if you lose your place you aren't relying on notecards/notes and shuffling around in desperation.

just relax and take your time
make it casual
dont be afraid to make mistakes.

Practice, have water around because nerves may dry your throat and make you sound extremely weird, know what you're going to say to the T before you go up there, and remember that most everyone who's in the audience probably also feel shitty when being put on the spot, so they aren't special beings of perfection and they have fucked up before. I don't know, it chills me out to know I'm not below anyone, I guess.

Oh and I hear imagining everyone naked also helps but I'm not sure.

Good luck!

A lot of times you'll feel like you've made a fool of yourself but try to remember that you'll never look as bad as you feel when you mess up. Like if you fumble a word or have shaky hands, it's most likely not something the audience will pick up on because they'll be consumed with their own dread or they'll at least sympathize with you. Other things that might help: pick a few people to make eye contact with to engage the audience (or if you're not comfortable with that you can look at the top of their heads or the back wall), don't rely too much on memorization, practice in front of a friend beforehand, and don't try to rush.

me too! i watched the whole series last month and watched season four in like three days

Oh gurl, I hear you on that one.

ughhh so awkward.

or when you move to a new school for high school and don't even KNOW anyone to sit with :(

LAWD YES

thank god for me it was only for 1 semester in jr high

That was why I hated exam weeks. It would throw off the lunch schedule so you'd sometimes be stuck in a lunch with no one you knew, then have to awkwardly ask someone you know but don't really know if you can sit with them.

I ate lunch with my art teacher for a while in middle school because of this :( She was super chill, I could go there and eat my sandwich and work on my project or just doodle or whatever for the whole period.

That was practically my entire high school education. It was really rough. There'd be a five minute overlap between our lunch periods, so I'd run to them to reassure myself that I wasn't a complete loser.

lol yes

There was a time when all my friends got a lunch pass that meant they could leave school premises for lunch. My parents wouldn't allow it for months so I'd have to sit on my own or awkwardly join other people. I hated it.

Yep. Especially when you're the new kid. Every fucking day of my senior year at my new school (the first time in a public one after 12 years of Catholic)

This was me in university, actually. I used to go to the dining hall with my friends from high school who lived in another residence hall and we'd meet up for lunch or dinner, but then they stopped telling me when they were going or they'd be like "oh we're busy" if I called them up and I was wayyyy too anxious to go alone and sit by myself, so I started just getting stuff for my mini fridge and eating alone in my room for most of the year. I lost like 17lbs just from that because I was living off dorm room stuff (bagels and cream cheese, cereal and milk, saltines and cup of soups...) and I was always hungry. And then I discovered one res hall had a lounge/cafe thing under it, so I ended up going there all the time to get wraps or chicken because I could just buy it and leave without having to sit around by myself like in the dining hall. I mean, now I would probably just go by myself and read or something (I tried that a few times), but back in first year, it was like this huge obstacle I couldn't get over :(