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happylook
3 1,187 M Little Steps 3
PathStep 8 Compassion hearts76 Forum posts8 Forum upvotes16 Current upvotes16 Age GroupAdult Last activeSeptember, 2026 Member sinceFebruary 6, 2023
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Strange Paradox 🙄
Anxiety Support / by happylook
Last post
 September 4th
...See more Hi, I wanted to share a story... I noticed that I have social anxiety, and it’s been affecting my quality of life. I recently found myself in a situation where I needed money, so for the first time in my life, I had to take a job dealing directly with people.. ​So, I figured it was time to finally work on my social issues. ​I started analyzing my behavior and realized that whenever I meet people, I get anxious and my body tenses up involuntarily. That physical discomfort is exactly what negatively impacts those interactions. ​I decided to become hyper-aware of this, actively trying not to tense up and focusing on keeping my muscles relaxed when I'm out! The strange part is that my close friends noticed the exact opposite result when I tried this... They told me my face looked like I was ready to punch someone. ​My theory is that the physical tension was actually a result of ADHD masking and my constant struggle to hold it together. Once I allowed myself to just be me and drop the mask entirely... all that heavy internal struggle just showed up right on my face. ​I honestly don't know what the solution is to improve my social skills now.
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Resting Punch Face
ADHD Support / by happylook
Last post
 August 30th
...See more Hi, I wanted to share a story... I noticed that I have social anxiety, and it’s been affecting my quality of life. I recently found myself in a situation where I needed money, so for the first time in my life, I had to take a job dealing directly with people.. ​So, I figured it was time to finally work on my social issues. ​I started analyzing my behavior and realized that whenever I meet people, I get anxious and my body tenses up involuntarily. That physical discomfort is exactly what negatively impacts those interactions. ​I decided to become hyper-aware of this, actively trying not to tense up and focusing on keeping my muscles relaxed when I'm out! The strange part is that my close friends noticed the exact opposite result when I tried this... They told me my face looked like I was ready to punch someone. ​My theory is that the physical tension was actually a result of ADHD masking and my constant struggle to hold it together. Once I allowed myself to just be me and drop the mask entirely... all that heavy internal struggle just showed up right on my face. ​I honestly don't know what the solution is to improve my social skills now.
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A Strange Paradox with ADHD Masking
ADHD Support / by happylook
Last post
 September 2nd
...See more Hi, I wanted to share a story... I noticed that I have social anxiety, and it’s been affecting my quality of life. I recently found myself in a situation where I needed money, so for the first time in my life, I had to take a job dealing directly with people.. ​So, I figured it was time to finally work on my social issues. ​I started analyzing my behavior and realized that whenever I meet people, I get anxious and my body tenses up involuntarily. That physical discomfort is exactly what negatively impacts those interactions. ​I decided to become hyper-aware of this, actively trying not to tense up and focusing on keeping my muscles relaxed when I'm out! The strange part is that my close friends noticed the exact opposite result when I tried this... They told me my face looked like I was ready to punch someone. ​My theory is that the physical tension was actually a result of ADHD masking and my constant struggle to hold it together. Once I allowed myself to just be me and drop the mask entirely... all that heavy internal struggle just showed up right on my face. ​I honestly don't know what the solution is to improve my social skills now.
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Need practical advice ❤️
Anxiety Support / by happylook
Last post
 August 19th
...See more I have social anxiety and next week I will work for the first time in a coffe shop (they will see how I perform and decide if they hire me or not) I really need that job, at the same time I feel really anxious, and have a lot of self doubt PS: I live in a country which I don't speak its language perfectly. Any advices please?
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Late diagnosed Adhd
Anxiety Support / by happylook
Last post
 August 8th
...See more I'm late diagnosed 'severe' ADHD. Because of my character I have no support system, since my childhood I was to one who helps others, who feels responsible about making the people that I love happy. Now i'm (26yo) paying everything cash. Burnout, Anxiety, many Trauma response + financial stress because I went to another country to finish my studies, can't find a job because I fear new experiences, avoid phone calls... Actually I can't describe how miserable the situation is, nobody else know what I'm going through because I do 'Masking' and I don't want my friends and family to know anything about this, because I don't want to see them sad about me. And honestly I don't think they are strong enough to hear my story.
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