Struggling with Social Anxiety

Try to call out cognitive dissonance! Whenever you have time and space take a second to think through the actual worst case scenario and what the real consequences would be (eg: I'm at a store and I ask for help, the clerk instead of helping yells at me, I'm sad for a while and maybe don't buy what I need but I'll likely never see that clerk) then think of the absolute best case scenario (I ask the clerk for help, they know exactly what I'm talking about help me quickly and are very friendly and nice to me) and then the most likely scenario (I ask the clerk for help, they help me, I leave, nothing interesting happens). Something else that can be helpful is asking your brain why it thinks you are in danger. Why do I think the clerk might be mean? Have they done something to show they are in a bad mood or feeling unhelpful or am I just scared that might happen? An important aspect of that is acknowledging and accepting that you don't know for sure what's going to happen and that is okay! You don't have to know and it's not your responsibility! The hardest part of my anxiety journey was learning to stop avoiding. Avoiding things that make you anxious will increase the anxiety over time the best thing to do is to expose yourself to the situation and gather actual experiences for your brain to use to make a 'most likely' train of thought. Good luck! You can do this! Most people aren't paying attention at all and the only ones observant enough to notice you're anxious are people who are also anxious so they get it! 💕

I've had similar experiences. It was debilitating. Meds aren't for everyone, for me though, after starting Prozac, things got much better. And it's also part of my job to do those things for other people and coach them on how to do it themselves. But I used to get blinding anxiety before having to make calls. And it has become easier just bc I don't have a choice, I have to do what's best for my clients. Oddly, I still struggle doing these things for myself, if I'm not wearing the case manager hat. But I would start little. It is incredibly hard to start, but the only way to help yourself is to do little exposures. Your anxiety isn't going to magically disappear, but it does get easier once you start pushing yourself a little bit. But slow. Like ordering fast thru the driveway after writing out what the order is so you can read it and there isn't that fear of saying the wrong thing. But also, meds helped me a lot. If you need anything or needs help figuring out exposures, send me a msg, I will gladly brainstorm with you! Social anxiety sucks butt. But it does get better!

The only advice I can give is try to do what you think you can,no one's opinion truly matters, social anxiety especially when you're still in school is hard cuz all the kids around us will bully us for the smallest things or teachers pressure us sometimes cuz they don't understand what we feel or are going through. Just do your best to be you. That's all I can say. Even I still struggle with anxiety especially in public.