Going out in public

[Elenwen]

I enjoy going out as long as I'm with my boyfriend. If I'm by myself or with someone that I'm not close to, I feel very self-conscious and just want to get home. Even if I'm with my boyfriend I have a very hard time going into small shops, I feel far more comfortable in huuuuge stores (like Wal-Mart), where it's more impersonal. It sucks because I'm fascinated by thrift stores and locally owned places, but I'm terrified to go in.

I actually just wrote about this today in my blog. (shameless promotion)

 

[applegirl]

Going out in public alone has gotten to the point where I feel better and not so anxious but I still have trouble going in a store and buying something and i peer over at the cashier counter and ... oh, it's a cashier person that was here last time when i bought something and handed over my money. cause seeing the same person again and again makes me feel like i dunno what to do. i can't even tell you the number of times i purposely loitered around aisle after aisle hoping once i could get my courage to head to the counter i wouldn't look like such an idiot or anything. everyday is a struggle. Sometimes my imagination of what could go wrong is very vivid and crazy to the point i almost start believing it because my face gets all flustered and red looking as if i just ran a marathon. my face tells it all when i try to pretend otherwise. :[

 

[Jannah]

I always go out on my own. I just ignore everyone and don't make eye contact with anyone, it really helps a lot. It's when someone tries communicating with me that my anxiety goes up or things get really awkward. Since I have no friends I have to go everywhere by myself. But I'm so used to it that I would actually feel weird if I went out with someone else.

 

[lyricalliaisons]

90% of the time, if not more, I'm terrified to leave the house & rarely ever do.

 

[NickyNacker]

90% of the time, if not more, I'm terrified to leave the house & rarely ever do.

Same here :/

 

[NickyNacker]

I always go out on my own. I just ignore everyone and don't make eye contact with anyone, it really helps a lot. It's when someone tries communicating with me that my anxiety goes up or things get really awkward. Since I have no friends I have to go everywhere by myself. But I'm so used to it that I would actually feel weird if I went out with someone else.

You don't have any friends? Not even just one? ::

 

[veggiebasket]

I feel far more comfortable in huuuuge stores (like Wal-Mart), where it's more impersonal. It sucks because I'm fascinated by thrift stores and locally owned places, but I'm terrified to go in.

I'm exactly the same way. I live in a small town, and there are a lot of really neat little shops in our downtown, but I just cannot go in them on my own. Sometimes I'll walk all the way there with the intent to go inside, only to walk by the window about 4 times and leave again.

I'm alright if I'm with my best friend, because when I'm with her it's like my anxiety disappears, so I'm alright going pretty much anywhere.

 

[LadyWench]

It usually depends on the situation for me. If I go somewhere alone (which is incredibly rare), I'm toast. There's no way I can emotionally handle it. But even if I go places with someone, I still end up getting anxiety. It isn't ALL the time, but it happens quite frequently. I will normally get a stomach ache, which turns into a panic attack, and that makes the stomach ache worse, and then I have to rush to the bathroom...which increases my anxiety. It's a stupid, vicious cycle.

A few years ago, I was dealing with horrible agoraphobia. I couldn't even go outside to check the mail, let alone go in public. Every time I went to the store or something, I was convinced something bad would happen (like a panic attack in front of everyone), and that everybody was looking at me and judging me. Thinking I'm ugly and fat and blah blah. Stupid stuff. At least I can leave the house now. It's still a struggle, though.

I guess it could be worse. Yay.

 

[mrb]

dont mind public places just as well with my job , dont mind talking to people as long as the conversation isnt to intence , but then i have days when i can talk to anyone and be ok , other days i dont want to talk to anyone except my dog charlie not that he listens to a word i say anyway ..

 

[Krista]

I use to be seriously terrified of going out sometimes. Feeling like everyone is staring at you, talking about you and that you never look good enough for anyone. I've gotten a hell of a lot better but for instance, this past Friday my friends and I went to the mall. While we were walking we passed two girls laughing, I would normally think they were laughing at me but I didn't. Didn't really notice them actually until a friend of mine points out that he was sure they were looking and laughing at me, for no reason? After, it was all I could think about. I'm not sure if they were but I was down for the whole rest of the night because of that comment. Sometimes it validates my fears but then I have to think that if I care about it it's only going to give them more to laugh about.

 

[Alyosha]

I have a hard time shopping. I always think people are looking at me. I feel so "out of place", I think people can see that there is something wrong with me. I feel like I am being judged. This feeling interferes with my life....I hate that I feel this way.