Anxiety taking over my social life

[EmilyMae]

Hi everyone, so I've had anxiety for over a year now, and it pretty much went away during the summer holidays, which I got back from last Wednesday - and it was like an avalanche of anxiety crashed on me. orz

Also because of the fact that I also have social anxiety, I've found it incredibly hard to start a good conversation and when people talk to me I'll have loads to say back but I can't say anything because it's almost like I have an 'anxiety-triggered-selective-mutism' if that makes sense? Which makes for l o t s of awkward silences :c Can anyone relate or does anyone have any tips on how I can be less anxious in conversations?

I should also mention that I have pretty bad depression which makes it incredibly hard for me to have any interests - I have two main ones but my friends aren't into either of them which doesn't help Dx

[Calaer]

Hey there. I'm sorry that this has been a struggle for you. I also suffer from social anxiety and depression, and I can totally relate to the awkward social situations. My anxiety has effected my life so poorly that I do nothing but sit at home with my Daughter and husband, and one in a blue moon I'll go out to the shops with my Mum.

I just want you to know that you aren't alone in this. I've yet to find a way to make the social situations less anxious, but I know that it can get easier. Just know that you aren't alone, and if you ever need to talk, please feel free to PM me anytime! My inbox is always open.

[darkwolf_2020]

Hey there,
I completly get what you're going though. What you descirded is basicly my life right now, especially the part about the selective mutism. That was the first decent description of what social interacts are like for me. So thank you.
On the note of how to help. I dont' completly know, but one thing I did was think about why I was getting scared. I mean, I was having panic attacks around friends. So I relized that there were some people that I didn't feel that sort of anxiety, and now those are my close friends. It may be different for you, but I decided that my anxiety came from having to constently be "on". Meaning that I had to be thinking about what I was saying, or trying to fit in or not make a fool of myself.

In situations that are mandatory(like a person just walks up to you and starts a conversation) I still have trouble, but I would take a deep breath, and think about what I was going to say. And if absolutely nessisary I would politly excuse myself(say I had to leave, or go to the restroom). It can be akward, but I also found that not mataining constent eye contact helped. I don't mean look at the floor. I just mean focus on something by their face, but not intensely.

I hope that this has helped, or at least made you feel not as alone.
Please feel free to PM me anytime.

Clover