Does anyone else have a real problem dealing with authority figures? It seems that whenever I am forced to speak to anyone in any position of authority, I just freak out. My heart starts thumping, my throat constricts, I feel like I can’t catch my breath, and my voice gets really high and shaky. I feel totally out of breath and it feels as though I have just run a marathon.
This happens when I am forced to talk to people like: Bosses, police, boarder guards, government people. It also happens when I need to complain about something or ask questions. It doesn’t matter if I’m on the phone, or in person.
I usually brush it off and just forget about it, but burying my head in the sand won’t do much good. It’s very noticeable and probably makes me look very strange. I don’t see other people displaying this behavior, so I wonder what my problem is.
I know it’s noticeable because the boarder guards always ask me extra questions when I travel into the US from Canada. They can obviously see how nervous I am and I can’t blame them for being careful. The thing is that I don’t have a reason to get nervous. I have nothing to hide.
Anyone else have this intense fear of authority figures and, if so, do you have any way to cope with the symptoms?
This happens when I am forced to talk to people like: Bosses, police, boarder guards, government people. It also happens when I need to complain about something or ask questions. It doesn’t matter if I’m on the phone, or in person.
I usually brush it off and just forget about it, but burying my head in the sand won’t do much good. It’s very noticeable and probably makes me look very strange. I don’t see other people displaying this behavior, so I wonder what my problem is.
I know it’s noticeable because the boarder guards always ask me extra questions when I travel into the US from Canada. They can obviously see how nervous I am and I can’t blame them for being careful. The thing is that I don’t have a reason to get nervous. I have nothing to hide.
Anyone else have this intense fear of authority figures and, if so, do you have any way to cope with the symptoms?