Social Anxiety is an intense, persistent fear of being watched or judged by others.
I have had social anxiety all of my life. I remember as a child being absolutely terrified of meeting new people. I was always hiding behind my mothers legs.
When grade school started it became even harder. I hated the first day of school. Well, the first month or two really. Until I could get comfortable with that one friend and stick with them the rest of the year.
If I had to present a project. I would purposely miss school. Pretend to be sick. Just hoping that when I returned the teacher would have forgotten about it. 9 times out of 10 they wouldn’t forget. It was so painful to me.
I began developing ulcers in my early years. Lots of trouble with my stomach.
I worried constantly. I don’t ever remember being a care free child. I believe this was my reason for having a passion for nursing. I always dreamed about helping others through things and having compassion for them.
I still have anxiety around groups. I have found ways to push through most of them. Mostly just by forcing myself into new situations and working on my self confidence.
Being a mother has also helped me overcome a lot of the social anxiety as well. I put a smile on and persevere. I try to be as outgoing as possible. So my daughter has a strong & confident role model.
The more confidence I gain the easier it is to talk to with people. I read a lot of Self Help books and listen to different podcasts.
Below is one of the Self Help books I read in the beginning of my journey.
You can also find it on the Libby App for free.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XLLF3PG/?tag=terradhayes-20
“Dreams are the counterpoint to fear” – Steve Harvey
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