I hadn't thought about people being 'out of my league' before, but I suppose this is (or was) the case for me. I've always suffered with social anxiety, but found a solution (or so I thought) by just avoiding situations. Others put themselves in the situation, have panic attacks, see a doc, take pills... I just avoided the situation altogether. That's fine for some things, but when it extends to limiting your life chances, then it's a problem. I left uni prior to my senior honours year, purely because I was terrified of social situations, involving fellow students, lecturers and lab staff. I suppose those people were out of my league, socially, or at least I thought that. I hated my job, as I couldn't avoid certain situations, although I spent so much time worrying about certain jobs and putting them off to the last minute, that I really was trying to avoid them.
My solution now is to just put myself in the situations. When my daughter was born, I decided I couldn't let this affect her too, so we went out every day, to parents and toddler groups and classes. I even ended up running one (although that was a mistake). Now, I'm active in the parent council and have no issues going along to leisure classes, without a buddy, etc. I don't know what the answer is for those who are still where I was 8 years ago (and had been for 20 years), other than suggesting that you try what I did. I won't say I'm anxiety free, but I don't avoid situations any more and I'm enjoying life. Some of the things I've done in recent years are way beyond my imaginings of just a few years ago.
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"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiatic about." Charles Kingsley
01 Nov 2013, 8:02 am
