Introverted or just anxious?

[KeepTheFaith01]

Hello there. Haven't posted here in quite a while.
I was just wondering how many people there are here who want to be sociable, but just can't because their social anxiety stops them from doing so. And how many people here feel infringed by social anxiety for other reasons. and feel as though even if they weren't nervous around people or in social situations any longer, they would still not socialise because they just prefer their own company?. I'm not sure about myself, I'd say i can be both ways. But on the whole i'd say i prefer being on my own. Even during some years in my life when i haven't felt so anxious socialising, i would still prefer to be by myself most of the time. So i think SA is more of a burden to me when it comes to getting a job/further education/asserting myself etc.

-Tony

 

[Lost_Nomad]

SP can shape your character. maybe if you never had it you would have become a very different and outgoing person. i geuss its not what you are or you think you are, its what you want to be . If you what to be a quiet person than thats fine and if you want to be an outgoing person thats fine. I understand though and feel the same, if i didn't have SP i would still be quiet.

 

[kiwi]

I was just thinking about this the other day actually. I definitely think that even without SA, I would not be that sociable. I find that even with people who I feel comfortable with, I can only handle socialising in short bursts and could never handle a full-blown night out or party. Without the anxiety, I think I would still be bored senseless and hence avoid those situations for that reason.

I wish I had a 'normal' personality, that is somewhere in between introverted and extroverted. Life must be so much easier for people who actually enjoy socializing!

Or if I'm stuck with this personaliy, then I wish society would change its views so that it's accetable to not be very sociable. Then at least I could enjoy be alone and not going out a lot without feeling like a total loser.

 

[Pearl]

I'm introverted and anxious, not comfortable socialising in groups but want to practice and as Yetisbabe said, bluff my way through it. Practice can improve social skills and forms a good habit. I guess getting a job is a higher priority than having a great social life to me. I want to overcome the divide in my mind between introverts and extroverts. It causes alot of conflict in my life, in that l never get on with extroverts and it causes trouble for me when l have my defenses up. I'm working on it.

 

[renegade]

I was just wondering how many people there are here who want to be sociable, but just can't because their social anxiety stops them from doing so.

That's me allwright :lol:

I always wanted to socialize, but SP has me in it's chain. Sometimes I feel as if I want to chat and chat to somebody about stuff, argue, laugh, even complain, but i always bump into is this irrational embarresment that's thorning my wings.

I'm not that shy as I was as a kid, I do feel to express my thought and feeling to others so bad at times, but I can't find the guts to speak up, and if I try, I often mess up and make a fool of myself.

And sometimes I feel the need to be alone and relax, to take a break, to have my free time, but I think normal people feel that need to.

I have always had SA, but I think that it has been exacerbated by things that have happened to me in my life. I believe that if I can deal with the stuff that has happened and let it go, that I will be a very sociable person

I'm with you here. We judge things by comparing them to our past experiences, and if we succed in socializing we belive that something must be wrong cause we are not used with positive feedback from others.

I don't know about you, but when I do get a positive response from others it's hard for me to take my credits for it, my mind thinks of it as an accident or an exception or just people being nice and polite but I try to tell myself: hey, you did that, be proud of yourself !!! :roll: