Summer Anxiety (hanging out with friends)
Hello! :) Newbie here You may be wondering what I mean with ‘summer anxiety’... Since my summer vacation started, a month ago, i felt very pressured to hang out with friends. Now, obviously I would like to do fun things with friends, however there is a catch: I get terrible anxiety when hanging out 1 on 1. I don’t mind group-settings because you get to listen and only have to talk when you feel like it. You don’t have to cary the conversation. With 1 on 1 on the other hand, when you don’t know what to say, there will be an awkward silence, you have to talk (constantly) and I’m just afraid it will be uncomfortable... When I’m actually hanging out, and especially afterwards, I am happy and glad I met up with that person, but beforehand...it’s just horrible. I can’t get myself to reach out to people because of my fears. There are a few friends I don’t have this issue with, but they have their own plans and are on holiday and meeting up as a group is difficult as well, because most of my friends live in different towns and cities... In the moment, I’d much rather stay home (safe) or go on a walk by myself, but I’m scared that I’ll regret not hanging out with my friends this summer... Obviously there is still the p@ndemic going around (at least here). The past year I got very comfortable not having to hang out 1 on 1... I saw my friends at school everyday (group), and I video-called with my other friend group at times (also group setting)... I isolated myself... I don’t really know what I’m asking here... i think I’m hoping on some advice, but knowing I’m not the only one (not crazy) would help as well! I hope you are all doing well :) and sorry if my english wasn’t good, it’s not my first language :]
@WatermelonPower
Hello. I'm sorry that you are dealing with this. Social anxiety is really tough and something that I struggle with as well. You are most definitely not alone and your feelings are valid. I guess something that helps me is remembering that my friends are not here to judge me. They are here because they want to be here so I can be more comfortable with silences in conversations. Also, like you said, even though there is anxiety before the social gathering, once I'm there, I'm no longer nervous and after I feel good. Again, this is a really tough thing to deal with. You are doing great!!
I hope this helped a little.
Take care!