I know it's not agoraphobia because when i'm with someone i'm fine. When i'm on my own though i feel extremely self concious, like there's a spotlight on me and everyone's looking at me. I've got to walk my dog soon and i'm dreading it. I hate it when a group of people walk towards me, especially people around my age or school kids. I don't know where to look and usually school kids are quite noisy and laugh loudly and i always feel like they're laughing at me. I can't even go shopping by myself, especially not clothes shopping, because i feel like everyone is looking at me. It's my Birthday tomorrow and i'm going out during the day to the city close to where i live. There's going to be a lot of people/crowds and i don't know how well i'm going to deal with it.
I see everyone else and they're just walking around without a care in the world, laughing and joking. I want to be like that but i don't think i ever will. I also have this fear of people shouting out of their cars or men beeping at me. It's so humiliating. If it were up to me i wouldn't go out but my dog needs a walk and it's cruel to not take her.
I am very similar- if I want to go for a walk outside, I never go by myself anymore. Instead, I usually ask a family member to go with me. This sucks because I enjoy nature and being outside- just not the fact that there are people outside that will potentially judge me or make me feel uncomfortable. I feel the same way about school kids and especially clothes shopping, which is why I do most of mine online.
Happy birthday! I don't know if you've already celebrated, but I hope that it goes/went well! Maybe it will be helpful to keep in mind that those individuals are probably focused on having their own good time and that you can (and should!) enjoy yourself as well. It may also help to keep in mind the other possibilities of why someone may be laughing or looking your way rather than the ones that involve them judging you. Even if an individual does judge you, that says a lot about their lack of character and personality than it does of your attributes. Of course realize this is way easier said then done, but perhaps this mindset will help.
As far as walking your dog goes, if you're anything like me, you tend to over think before you take an action and it may eventually lead to you avoiding it totally. I'm not sure if you already do this, but maybe it would be helpful for you to get ready as soon as your dog needs to go outside. In other words, put your shoes on, jacket, and/or whatever else you need and get out there. Don't allow yourself time to deliberate. Perhaps, you can put these belongings in a place that is easy to get at. Of course, this doesn't mean you should rush out the door and forget something, but I guess try not to let too much time pass. I know that for me at least, the more that I wait to do something, the less likely that I want to do it- even if it feels better in the moment.
I hope that this helps and I'm sorry if any of these is unwanted advice or if you've tried these methods before and that they didn't work. Again, I hope that everything went well with your birthday and if you ever need anyone to talk to, feel free to message me!
