Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav
shyFly7826
1 181 M Embraced 1
PathStep 3 Compassion hearts22 Forum posts9 Forum upvotes11 Current upvotes11 Age GroupAdult Last activeMarch, 2026 Member sinceJanuary 13, 2025
Bio
Recent forum posts
shyFly7826 profile picture
A realisation about self-image and social anxiety
Anxiety Support / by shyFly7826
Last post
 January 15th, 2025
...See more Hi,  I think I just realised something about my struggle with self-image and how my social anxiety makes it so much harder. I have really low self-esteem and have a hard time seeing good traits in myself. I also have social anxiety and get really nervous when interacting with people. In my desperation to make a good impression and be accepted I often adapt an overly positive and cheery personality. It often works for first impressions, but it's no good because it sets me up to fail. People often describe me as a happy and carefree person and it's crushing me because on the inside I'm feeling sad and stressed out - the complete opposite!  It makes me feel fake, like I'm playing a role that isn't real. And it's impossible to keep the charade up, because when I feel more comfortable and less anxious it ironically leads to comments like "What's wrong? Why are you so boring/sad today?" - not exactly what my already low self-esteem needs to hear: that my real personality sucks haha 🙈 I think I'm realising that these two perceptions of me are both a bit wrong. My negative self-image isn't really that bad and the cheery persona isn't completely fake. But they are distorted in opposite directions and that makes the gap between them so much bigger and harder to reconcile.  This post became quite long and if you got this far - thank you so much for listening! 💕 It's going to be difficult to fix, to improve on my self-image while calming down my anxious behaviour. But I think that identifying it is a good start. What do you think? Any tips or thoughts? 
Search more from @shyFly7826
Community updates
Considering Therapy?
Talk to an expert therapist
Badges & Awards
8 total badges
First Community First Post Hand Shake Reaching out Helping out First Compassion 7 Day Streak Forum Friend
Report an issue