Avoiding the big event

My roomate asked me to come down to the city for the weekend and celebrate her ex-boyfriends birthday with her. Of course this means that ALL his and her friends will be there.

Why is this worrying? I've resisted hanging around with my roomate's circle of friends for a long time now because of my SA. But since school started I've had no choice and have been dragged along with her. I;ve gotten myself into that situation where all her friends know me as that roomate that never "hangs out" and I've become the butt of thier jokes because when I'm with them, I get extremely quiet and/or sarcastic or just plain dumb sounding.

I can't engage in any type of normal conversation with them because most of the time I'm trying to think of something appropriate to say and while that happens any bit of spontaniety or relevance in my comment goes out the window and I end up looking like some ignorant jackass who has nothing witty or interesting to say. I'm trying too hard!

Now I've been in situations with these "friends" which has made me soooo uncomfortable and anxious that the thought of spending 2 days with them is literally keeping me awake at 4 am!!

Should I go?... and hope for a miraculous personality change... mind over matter right..... or should I save myself the cost and stress of hanging out with people who *I feel* treat me like a sideshow?

if they treat you like that then i would not go. i mean, what ignorant people. i am always quiet around groups of people, but i rarely become picked on because of it...

these people are not your friends, because they do not accept the person that you are inside. they are far too shallow, and you are much better off without them in your life. personally, i would not dream of hanging out with people if i was going to be the center of ridicule. unless you think you will have a great time, i would save yourself the trouble and just stay home.

I agree with slicenrice; If they can't accept you as you are then they are not true friends.

Don't feel as though those people are acting that way because they're not nice people. They're being insensitive to who you are, but it's not malicious. I've been in this situation many times, but I've also had some experiences where people who've teased me about being "quiet" or "shy" or "a loner" etc, have also said to me that they thought I was a fun guy on the incredibly rare occassion I've managed to overcome the anxiety for a brief time and relax.

You should definately go, but easier said than done right? Putting yourself in those situations is really the only way to get past your social anxiety, but I think everyone already knows that. Just try your best to go, and if you can't, try not to feel bad and then try again next time. Good luck.