I Have Social Anxiety

I have a question of curiosity, if I may? Do you find it easier, harder or about the same to interact behind the keyboard with social anxiety? Besides the challenges that come with leaving the house and social environments, I find that, as irrational as it sounds, even behind the keyboard I get highly anxious. I am not one who believes my opinion should be heard on everything that comes along anyway, but it still feels like I am in a room with a million people even on social media! I do much better in one on one conversations, it just feels safer.

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CrazyMusicLover · 31-35

Behind the keyboard, I would call it rather overexcited than anxious. I can panic when someone attacks me but it's much easier to find the ground under my feet than when I am verbally attacked in real life.

Sites like this don't stress me much, it's dealing with more serious things through emails that gives me anxiety.

Ladyred · 46-50, F

@CrazyMusicLover Thank you, yes I have heard it said that excitement feels much like anxiety. Would you say it is easier to view it as over excitement vs. anxiety?

CrazyMusicLover · 31-35

@Ladyred I think it's easier to view it as over-excitement because anxiety feels differently to me. Anxiety relates to something I have to do and I feel real danger of either failing my task or humiliating myself (when I start crying in public, for example). Since there's no one who knows about my physical responses on the internet, I usually don't feel truly anxious unless I do something that could affect my life offline. For example, when I published a photo of my face for the first time and few hour later I panicked that someone could misuse it. So I took it down.

There's nothing I have to do on the site like this so unless I share too much about myself or somebody hit my Achilles heel I don't feel that kind of anxiety.

Shyness, that's something else. That's why I never send PM first. If I would do that, maybe it would trigger anxiety too. Who knows, I never tried and never actually felt the need. 😁

Ladyred · 46-50, F

@CrazyMusicLover Thank you for sharing that with us! I find it interesting, because for me it is the opposite. I suppose because I have had more practice at PM's since it is my preferred method, but I don't get bothered if I don't get a reply or someone decides to ghost.

I do agree though. I keep most things very private for the same reason. I just don't get the need to share every detail of your personal life with the internet. I much prefer real one on one face time for sharing details of ones life.