What's the craziest thing you've ever done because of your social anxiety?

[psych]

This was a long time ago...

I yelled at a bunch of people, told them to back the f**k off! :veryangry:

They were all hanging around my car, coaching me on how to get in.... Because my stupid a$$ had gone and left the keys in it... :blushing:

So, I was already friggin' mortified...
Fortunately, it was at a big gas station plaza... They had a coat hanger for me... Unfortunately, it drew a crowd. :thumbdown:

I couldn't handle all that attention. I was really flustered... & I just knew if they'd leave me the hell alone for a second, I could get in.
& It worked! After a few insults were yelled back at me, & one guy told me I oughta get my head examined... :sarcastic: Good times...

 

[MotherWolff]

I was so depressed that I went to a male strip club in the city, alone, at night! That wasn't just crazy; it was just stupid.

 

[laure15]

This was a long time ago...

I yelled at a bunch of people, told them to back the f**k off! :veryangry:

They were all hanging around my car, coaching me on how to get in.... Because my stupid a$$ had gone and left the keys in it... :blushing:

This happened to me too, once. It was embarrassing; the neighbors called me stupid for this. The only reason why I got my key stuck inside the car is partly
because of my brother; he won't let me use the remote so I had to manually lock the car.

 

[chibiXphantom]

idk if id call it crazy, just really dumb.
but if id miss a class or knew id be late, id go home and skip all my classes, or hide in various buildings till a class with completely different people so no one would be like 'hey, why did you skip class?" (even though no one would, or even would care).

i would hide in a bathroom stall during sunday school/youth group cause i was always afraid to play the games they'd have us play after lessons. so id hide in the bathroom for an hour (till my parents found out)

and when someone knocks on the door at home, i run upstairs to check who it is through the upstairs window, then hide in my room (unless its a close family member)

 

[rxdc]

I used to skip too when I was late for class. I couldn't handle that moment when you walk into class late and everyone stares at you in unison. High school was the worst cause the teacher would put me on the spot and ask me why I was late.

Can't really decide which is the craziest thing I've done because of my anxiety. But the one I regret the most because I lost my cool and just ran, was this one time when I was in the subway.

I was sitting in the back of the train when 2 girls walked in and sat across of me. My face tends to sweat like crazy when I'm in uncomfortable situations but it was fine so far. I had my head slightly down because I was watching a video on my phone, but I noticed out of the corner of my eye that they were slightly staring at me and whispering.

They weren't laughing or making fun of me, it was more like when someone wants you to notice them. Kind of like when you have a crush on someone and you subtly try to make them notice you. At least that's what it felt like to me.

I started to sweat a little and right away I felt the best option was to pretend I didn't notice them at all and just focus on the video I was watching. To my horror the next thing I noticed is one of the girls take a deep breath, stand up and sit right next to me. Considering that there were a whole bunch of seats that were empty and she chose the one next to me, she wasn't trying to be subtle anymore.

At this point I was sweating profusely, and I started to get nervous that she'd see this and it would totally creep her out. I could also notice she was pretty nervous too, because at this point it was obvious I knew what was going on. What she couldn't see, was how much sweat I had on my face due to my hyperhidrosis. I just couldn't take it anymore and I bolted as soon as the train stopped. Worst part is that it wasn't my stop so I had to pretend I had gotten off at the wrong station.

What bothers me the most is that I ran. It felt as a huge setback considering I was getting better at dealing with my anxiety.

 

[vj288]

Once when I was taking a shower, my roommate left and locked me out of the room. I did have clothes, but no key. To avoid asking the RA where to get a back up key, I decided I would attempt to break into my room using various tools found in the bathroom instead. This simply wore down the lock, which is bad. I eventually gave up and asked where to get a key, a walked over to get it.

If you thought that was the end of it you were wrong.

I got back, and the key would not fit, from me messing with the lock. I did not want to force it in case it got stuck, but I instead decided to force it anyway and hope for the best. It got stuck. I tried for a while to get it unstuck, but it was no use. Now, my roommate, the one who locked me out, I thought had gone out of state for the weekend. Otherwise I would have waited in the bathroom until he returned. So, knowing this, I decided to remove the door handle, and try to get a better angle removing the key. It was to no avail, I tried for a while, but eventually gave up. I then went to reattach the handle...and couldn't figure it out. So now I have a broken door handle with a key stuck in the lock. While trying to reattach the door handle guess who shows up? That roommate I was telling you about, the one who was going out of town. I stand in front of the door handle, as to lot let him see, and then quickly attach it, incorrectly. Incorrectly in a way that would not allow you to get out if the door was close. So once my roommate closed the door I was getting a little nervous. More nervous when he went to leave and discovered it would not open. I sort of half confess to him at that point, and he gets out his screwdriver to remove the door handle, and does so, with a passion. At that point all is lost and I call the maintenance guy.

Ironically, all the crazy stuff I did to try to avoid people ended up making me look more like an idiot and having to interact with more people. h:

 

[BleedTheFreak]

My mother and I were housesitting (and she was watching my friend, too, I guess) when his parents went on vacation. I think we were around 16. So we were in his room on the 2nd floor and a few adults including my mother's boyfriend, who I had never met, come over. The house was set up in a way that you can see someone going down the steps if you're in the living room, and they were in the living room. My mom eventually called me to come downstairs and I panicked (well, I had already been panicking) and decided to jump out of my friend's window. Luckily I didn't really hurt myself :thumbup:

 

[crazycatlady27]

i lived with my mother and brother when i had my daughter and my brother had friends round while i was trying to cook and it became so overwhelming for me to have these people in the house i packed a bag and walked out with my daughter and hid at my dads
i walked three miles in the rain and cold down country lanes just to get away from people.

 

[hidwell]

i lived with my mother and brother when i had my daughter and my brother had friends round while i was trying to cook and it became so overwhelming for me to have these people in the house i packed a bag and walked out with my daughter and hid at my dads
i walked three miles in the rain and cold down country lanes just to get away from people.

That sounds totally understandable to me.:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Blablabla]

Sat in the bathroom during lunch because I was a loner.

 

[Samsapple]

I sat perfectly still on my floor for four (4!) hours because I didn't want my downstairs neighbors to know I was home. I waited til they went out til I moved.......

This SAD really makes us do strange things....

Wow, I thought I was the only one who has done something like this. I would even go as far as not turning on the lights...

I've always had trouble entering public places. Like for example if I need dish soap I'll drive to the store but drive right pass the parking lot because I see too many cars. I'll drive around town for HOURS before finally forcing myself to go inside the store.
I also park in abandoned parking lots and fall asleep just to have that feeling of being hidden. I do this when I have a perfectly safe and comfortable bed at my home.

 

[Reaching-Zen]

If I'm going to face some big drama (a class, an interview, some meeting, sitting opposite people at tables) I will pre plan it to have a pre disguise by either getting sunburnt in the face in the days leading up to the drama, or if its a a short term thing, go jogging for half an hour so as to blame blushing on exercise.


To those about to post the ''blushing is cute'' line, its only as cute as every other life altering disorder. Its not big to others, but to the sufferer its life changing, we would stand on a train for hours rather than sit opposite people.
the crazy stunts to avoid eye contact or attention drawn to us is routine.

 

[Agent_Violet]

What's the craziest thing you've ever done because of you're social anxiety?

Mines was hiding in the bathroom until school got out. To skip the classes that made me sick.

I convinced my mother I couldn't breathe and that I was having an internal allergic reaction to something I ate.She took me to the hospital and I got to miss the last few days of school which were the hardest bc of all the open time they gave every one.I didn't want to sit alone and be whispered about by the other girls.

 

[BlackPuma]

Normally I ate lunch with my classmates in highschool, but one day they weren't there, so I waited in the disgusting toilets for about 30 minutes.

 

[awkwardamanda]

To those about to post the ''blushing is cute'' line, its only as cute as every other life altering disorder. Its not big to others, but to the sufferer its life changing, we would stand on a train for hours rather than sit opposite people.
the crazy stunts to avoid eye contact or attention drawn to us is routine.

Maybe slightly rosy cheeks can look cute. But only if it's natural. Blush just looks dumb. I'm very fair skinned and I turn red easily, whether I'm warm or embarrassed or my skin's just irritated. I took a lot of dance classes when I was younger and my face turned beat read all the time. The other girls would get pink cheeks a little. Not me. It was horrible. The skin right around my lips stayed white for some reason, but the rest of my face was a fricken tomato. It was so embarrassing. It didn't matter how much water I guzzled. Makeup was useless. It didn't cover well enough, and/or I'd sweat it off anyway. Let me tell you, that is NOT cute.

 

[_Hope]

When I was younger I suppose hiding behind my garden shed for 3-4 hours until my Dad went to work so I could sneak into the house was pretty crazy and all because I was too anxious to go to school.

I also hid in a field while it was hammering down with rain with nothing but a large tree for shelter for 7 hours because I was anxious about going to school! :crying:

Bad times! :sad:

 

[wariomona]

Some people mentioned hiding in bathrooms during school lunch breaks. I used to do this every day for 3 years because:
- You sit alone where people see you and you'll be asked "Do you wanna sit with us?" (literally within like 5 minutes)
- You sit alone where no one can see you and you get in trouble (which would have been fine if they'd taken away the break I had to hide during but instead they had to have "after-school" detentions...)
- Walking around in circles meant people that saw me doing it would ask what I was doing

grades 8-10 weren't very fun

 

[ImNotMyIllness]

The Craziest....Hmmm....I would have to think a while on that one! lol. But, I do a number of crazy things. For example, during a discussion I may accidentally give inaccurate information but I'll be too nervous to correct myself because I'll feel awkward. Sometimes when I buy something or need information, I won't ask all of the necessary questions-even on doctor visits! When my SA is flaring up, I may not have even heard what they've said, I just go blank and shake my head like an idiot!

 

[ImNotMyIllness]

During High School when my parents asked me where am I going, I would just say "out". I wanted to give them the impression that I had some covert adolescent stuff going on when in reality I was too ashamed to say nowhere.
......If I have to go to an event or party, I will purposely get their as late as possible to ensure there is minimal social interaction. I also lie and make up excuses on having to leave early, like I'm really busy or something.

 

[sahxox]

Its interesting to note that quite a lot of peoples craziest thing happened at school, or because of school. Just wondering, it seems odd that there aren't systems (or effective ones, at least) in place at schools to support sufferers of social anxiety. I mean, school is the ultimate worst thing for a social phobia sufferer to be forced to endure!

Weird cos I have never heard another soul talk about social anxiety!! It is not acknowledged openly at all (atleast here in Australia) and I stumbled upon a proper term only through the help of google. School really is horrible for sa sufferers and can only say I am glad to know it gets better from here on.