Illness of Lost Opportunities

Being at work on Christmas has got me thinking of some pretty intense things.

“Social anxiety is characterized by a significant amount of fear in one or more social situations causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some parts of daily life. These fears can be triggered by perceived or actual scrutiny from others.

SAD is sometimes referred to as an “illness of lost opportunities” where “individuals make major life choices to accommodate their illness”. .. the main diagnostic criteria of social anxiety disorder are fear of being the focus of attention, or fear of behaving in a way that will be embarrassing or humiliating, avoidance and anxiety symptoms.”

I feel like a fraud. I hate to admit my flaws (although there are many). I like to appear as if I have everything together and that I have this positive perfect and happy life. That is not always the case. I am not kidding when I say that my social anxiety makes me angry. I use to be fearless. I use to not care if I made a fool of myself. I was secure in who I was and would go above and beyond to be active and social and in front of crowds. It kind of has come and gone in my life. I remember feeling awkward around others in high school, much as if I didn’t belong… was fairly socially adventurous in college… and as an adult kind of reverted. Now I sometimes will cry just thinking of being around people. I fear being around anyone. I very rarely feel like I belong anywhere. THIS IS NOT HOW I WANT TO BE. I want to enjoy life. I want to love myself unconditionally. I want to be fearless and secure. I am fine with my seniors. I am secure being around them, but why not in my personal life?

How do you cope with social anxiety? How do you overcome the “illness of lost opportunities”? What natural treatments do you use to overcome these feelings? I can’t just “get over it”… I have tried that. It’s not easy to talk yourself out of what your mind believes. I personally do not want to take medications, although I know they help a lot of people.

 

Things I am sure will help? Exercising more frequently and restarting Whole30. I truly notice a difference in how I feel on that strict Whole30 Diet.