Coping with crowds

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It seems that being in crowded environments tends to freak me out. I used to think it merely had to do with being bullied, but even when I'm among a friendly crowd, I still get very stressed. The pattern has been pretty subtle, because up until adulthood, the only time I would be stuck in a crowd would be during school hours, and I didn't like my classmates very much in the first place. It was easy to assume it was because I was shy and fearful of the other students.

However, since graduating high school, I've attended several parties and rallies where I was surrounded by friendly people but still became very overwhelmed and panicky. I don't think I'm overgeneralizing (school=crowds=bad), because I've never been attacked or witnessed something bad happening while in a crowd. It seems more like the mass of people itself is overwhelming.

Do you guys have any advice on coping with this? I mean, realistically, I live in a big city and there are going to be times when I can't withdraw or hit the beer cooler (which doesn't work anyway).

The obvious one is to move out of the city. If you have to stay, then try and time your activities to avoid busy parts of the day. I, too, dislike crowds, and will go to great lengths to avoid high-density humanity (in fact I prefer to avoid any humanity most of the time). I now live in a semi-rural area, and if I do have to venture on foot around the central areas of the nearest city, try to do so pre 7a.m, or between 10 and 11a.m.

I hate crowds too. They make me feel uncomfortable. I live in a country town so when I visit the city I have to try and cope with weaving my way through a busy street, bus, train or shopping centre. I haven't got any coping strategies other than try to spend a short time as possible in the city when there are big crowds.

Planning the expedition can be useful in minimising exposure to the hordes, pensieve. I generally identify destinations the day before, then find their location on Google Earth. It's then possible to plan a route to bypass the worst areas. I usually take a map with me, as well, if not familiar with the area, just in case.

Hm. It's kind of depressing if the only answer is avoidance, but I sort of knew that in the first place. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself and push myself to do things that are stressful.

I once had a job at a phone bank located near Times Square. That lasted all of one day.

There are ways to cope. Somethings are unavoidable like the crowds.

Before going out, I suggest you find a fabric you enjoy wearing. If someone bumps into you, it won't be as bad since you feel the fabric more than the touch of them. Something else which helps me is crossing the street once in a while. There aren't as many people in the crosswalk, and it helps me calm down. Also, stop into a calm store of library if you get a chance. That will calm you down too before walking to densely packed sidewalks.

I tend to space out when I'm in a really noisy crowd. My school has too many students right now, and so every travel break I have to disconnect in order to make it to the next class. Luckily I don't disconnect so much that I go to other classes instead of the one I'm supposed to - most of the time anyways
I feel sorry for the people that get ran over with my rolling backpack of doom whenever I get really overwhelmed and rush to my next class without any concern for other people.

If you're in a crowd of strangers, should you aviod eye contact?

Yes, unless you want to get punched, stabbed or shot.

I hate two things with crowds: First, the number of people in them is too much. Second, I cannot move as freely in a crowd. I walk at a fast pace, and my walk is less awkward at a fast pace, but when I walk slowly, my walk becomes very different from most peoples as I am trying to make my strides shorter, move my body more awkwardly, etc. Iam self conscious about the way I walk, and walking slowly makes me feel awkward, and I hate crowds because I walk slowly, and they are just overwhelming in general.