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Shy-ness to the Extreme

ShyFish16 June 14th, 2015

I am the shyest person you will ever meet. And I'm not entirely sure why. A lot of people think I do it on purpose, to get attention. Yeah,.... I'm trying to do the opposite. :) I'm a waitress, and have no problem at all talking to complete strangers, which is weird. I have a few friends and can usually talk to them pretty well if we are alone. But if we are in or near a large crowd of people , I just freeze up. I can't say a word and I feel like all eyes are on me. It's almost like stage fright,except it's all the time. If I absolutely HAVE to say something to someone in a crowd or with a group of people, I purposely don't make eye-contact. Because if I do, I just lose my nerve and say nothing. This is mainly because when I talk to a group of people, I don't know who to look at. Do you look at everyone as you talk, or just one person? This always makes me even more nervous to think about while I'm also trying to sort of ,almost, have a conversation, and then I just space out while I'm thinking about how this should all be done. And then it's over, and I have no clue what we even talked about. I know I probably sound like I'm coming from planet Mars, trying to learn "human ways of social interaction" but I'm just a normal Earthling like the rest of you. Any advice is much appreciated, thank you.

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StressedGirl June 14th, 2015

Hi, I think you may have Social Phobia/Asperger's Syndrome/Autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder) (ASD). Look in to it. Does your heart race when you have to interact with other people? Do you know what to say or do you get so freaked out you are just like 'Oh, no, hell, I can't do this). Btw, I have Asperger's Syndrome.

4 replies
ShyFish16 OP June 14th, 2015

Thankyou, I will look into that. I've never heard of it before, and I'm going to look it up right now. I'm sorry to know you have this, but thanks for reaching out to me and sharing this information. This could really solve a lot of problems if I had a name for it. Thanks again. :)

3 replies
lipsofdust June 14th, 2015

I have some of your characteristics. I don't like to speak in public, people say I speak very low. For me is very difficult to eat in public, in my first job I didn't eat for like one week until I adapted myself to the change. I can't make eye contact also, I get distracted and lose completely the conversation. I think you might have social anxiety disorder. IF exist something that's bothering your daily life seriously then you should ask for help. But if you are more like me, if you think you could manage it maybe it's just your personality...I am introvert since always so I guess I will be fine...good luck!

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LavenderBlues June 15th, 2015

I also have most of the characteristics of an Aspie that Iread online, but I'm not officially diagnosed as one.Make sure you seek a professional to get a proper diagnosisbefore you pin yourself down to a limitation of your true potentials.

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sparrowmedicine13 June 14th, 2015

You really don't sound like you're coming from planet Mars at all! I can completely understand how frustrated you must feel due to all of this. Have you tried researching into selective mutism at all? It may not be exactly what you're having to deal with, but it's a good place to start and has extreme likenesses to other things, like autism for example, which it can often be misdiagnosed as. I hope you're feeling better soon!

1 reply
ShyFish16 OP June 14th, 2015

I will look it up. Thank you for reassuring me I am , in fact, not from Mars. :)

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