Yeah me too. I just went to the airport today to send my cousin off. My favorite part was the walkway near the parking garage because it's quiet and there's very little people. But as soon as we entered the terminal, my anxiety increased. There were strangers looking at me so I try to avoid eye contact and just look somewhere else. I was afraid of staring at people and coming off as creepy.
I saw 2 employees who were looking at our direction and probably talking about us. I heard one of them said, "i don't like her...she keeps looking at you...do you like her?..." I dont know if they were referring to my cousin, me, or my mom. We were taking pictures and I was nervous that cameras aren't allowed. It's pretty obvious that my mom isn't anxious at all. She was all smily faces and talking so loud. In contrast, I was quiet and very afraid of looking at people. Same thing with my cousin, she doesn't seem affected by the people around her. Anyway, when it came time to say goodbye, I was frozen like a rock. I knew people were looking, so I didn't do much. My mom was hugging my cousin and being all warm to her, but then my cousin turned to me and said bye. She looked like she wanted to hug me, but I just couldn't move. I knew there were people looking so I froze. There was an awkward silence between us until my cousin finally initiated the hug, so I said what the heck. Then I turned to look at the 2 employees gossiping and they were pretty much dispersed.
It gives me a lot of anxiety to walk through a crowded area, even more anxiety if people were sitting and I have to walk near them. I sat down for a moment and felt relieved.
Then we were in a crowded elevator to go back to the parking garage. I was a little anxious, but not as anxious as in the terminal. When we got out of the elevator, I heard some woman's voice saying "she's stupid". I didn't look back of course. I just kept walking.
I hope I can be strong enough to overcome people's insults and comments. It's my new year's resolution.