KnuffleBunny
Well-known member
In the chat yesterday, it appears not everyone understands that I am NOT an SAer, and I was asked how I could possibly understand what you go through. Not that I'm annoyed by that or anything, just people get confused I think. So I would like to clarify things a bit on how I, as a plain old introvert, can sympathize/understand. I am not intending on flaunting the fact I do not have SA, apologies if it comes across that way, and in fact I would like to show you some of the little parts of me that DO have anxiety dealing with the outside world.
My problems in dealing with people are small but sometimes powerful. Going out on my own and doing shopping by myself makes me a little nervous. Eating in public by myself makes me VERY nervous. I get paranoid constantly and look everywhere, afraid of people staring at me or of someone I know suddenly coming up to me to talk because I'm not prepared for that sort of encounter. Sometimes I have actually made myself eat in public strictly because I know it scares me. I hate getting phone calls and prefer someone else answer them, but if I'm alone I will. Calling people, I need to rehearse what to say, mostly I write down what I need to say as a guideline or else I get lost and confused (I've been told it's partly due to my dyslexia that I do this).
When people I don't know come to the door, I get scared and literally run to the other side of the house to tell someone else because I'm too nervous to talk to them. I can't even answer for the pizza guy! In one instance I came home to see people at my door and was too nervous to come too close to my house in case they saw me and decided to talk to me. I stayed nearby petting a neighbor dog until they left.
Why did I join in the first place if I do not have it? My bf told me he had SA and when I asked him to tell me what it was, he wouldn't talk about it. So I searched online, read about it, and decided I wanted to hear from people who actually have it to get a better understanding, so I joined one of the first forums I could find. I was worried about joining because I thought I would feel like an outsider but was thankful to see people were so accepting of me. Even now I feel worried about how people will see this post.
I hope these small points show how I can, at some level, understand the problems you face.
My problems in dealing with people are small but sometimes powerful. Going out on my own and doing shopping by myself makes me a little nervous. Eating in public by myself makes me VERY nervous. I get paranoid constantly and look everywhere, afraid of people staring at me or of someone I know suddenly coming up to me to talk because I'm not prepared for that sort of encounter. Sometimes I have actually made myself eat in public strictly because I know it scares me. I hate getting phone calls and prefer someone else answer them, but if I'm alone I will. Calling people, I need to rehearse what to say, mostly I write down what I need to say as a guideline or else I get lost and confused (I've been told it's partly due to my dyslexia that I do this).
When people I don't know come to the door, I get scared and literally run to the other side of the house to tell someone else because I'm too nervous to talk to them. I can't even answer for the pizza guy! In one instance I came home to see people at my door and was too nervous to come too close to my house in case they saw me and decided to talk to me. I stayed nearby petting a neighbor dog until they left.
Why did I join in the first place if I do not have it? My bf told me he had SA and when I asked him to tell me what it was, he wouldn't talk about it. So I searched online, read about it, and decided I wanted to hear from people who actually have it to get a better understanding, so I joined one of the first forums I could find. I was worried about joining because I thought I would feel like an outsider but was thankful to see people were so accepting of me. Even now I feel worried about how people will see this post.
I hope these small points show how I can, at some level, understand the problems you face.
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