Social Anxiety and Hyperhidrosis
I have hyperhidrosis, "a medical condition in which a person sweats excessively and unpredictably." Mostly in my hands and feet. I don't think a lot of people take it too seriously, but you can imagine how much fun this is for someone who also has social anxiety. When I'm 100% calm, my hands will be damp at best, though sometimes I'm lucky and get a half hour of normality. When I'm anxious...oh boy. My boyfriend affectionately calls it my superpower. Here's a typical first interaction with someone:
Me: *generally content, sweating mildly, slightly fast heartbeat*. I smile and introduce myself. So far so good 
.
Other person: Introduces themselves and extends their hand for the dreaded handshake.
Me: *completely betrayed by my body*
(What's with all the handshaking that goes on in our society, anyway?)
It turns into some crazy thing where my anxiety makes me sweat more and my sweatiness makes me more anxious and then that makes me even sweatier and.......
Just the other day, I had to take a class photo with a group of people that I had literally just met 10 minutes before. I'm fairly short, so I was placed front and center. And my professor asked me to face the girl to my right and hold her hands!?! wtf kind of picture is that?? That poor, sweet girl. Sometimes I just have to laugh at how ridiculous life is.
Life is such an absurdist undertaking ha. I think it's good you can laugh at the situation, I think it helps prevent these things from becoming monsters in our heads. I'm not totally sure what to do in your situation other than maybe try practicing hand shaking and other common interactions with your BF. My social anxiety causes me to sweat so I always wipe my hands before shaking anyone's hand. I guess when I can't help but think about all the ways people might be judging me in public I just remember the quote from Kurt Vonnegut "So it goes" and just shrug it off as one of the absurd parts of being alive and being a person. Best of luck and I hope you find help. If you can afford it I think CBT therapy would be especially helpful in your case.
@GodSpeedYou Practicing with my boyfriend definitely helps...that came out wrong. But seriously, my boyfriend was the one who made me realize that my hyperhidrosis is closely linked with my anxiety. Over time I've been able to hold hands with him for longer periods of time without sweating as I get more comfortable with it. I liked the quote, by the way.
My new health insurance will kick in next week, so I'm going to seek help again.
Ah, you sound just like me! I also have social anxiety and hyperhidrosis so I understand how tough it is *hugs*. I've found that a few antiperspirants (which you spray on your hands before socialising) and creams have helped me, so you may want to look into some? I hope you find a way to overcome it 
@SilverWaterfall Thank you. Even though I know that there are a lot of people in the world with this condition, sometimes it doesn't feel that way. I've met one person who had hyperhidrosis and I got excited and he thought I was weird, ha. Actually, I'm really glad I made this post because it encouraged me to search for solutions. I ordered carpe hand lotion off Amazon and we'll see how it goes. I don't expect it to be 100% effective, but it would be great if it reduced the sweating even a little.
That sounds like a very unpleasant condition to have in any social situation. It must make introducing yourself to people very fear-provoking.
As a person who finds hugs or kisses (I live in France) quite nerve-racking, I can honestly say that introductions can be weird for a lot of people. You are not alone, and the people you are greeting may have gone through many awkward greetings themselves.
Probably in part as a result of that, I don't judge the people I meet by how they greet me, and I don't feel people judge me for it either (if, for example, I mess the hug up completely). Maybe your introduction, even if it is a rather sweaty handshake, isn't as important to the person you meet as you might think.
I hope this helped just a little. *hugs you awkwardly* I will remember your story the next time I give (or receive) a sweaty handshake ;)
@UmbrElla1413 haha, thanks for the awkward hug. I've definitely given plenty of those, although as with most things, it gets better with practice. You're definitely right, and I try to remind myself that my sweatiness probably isn't that big of a deal to the other person. I just wish more people knew about hyperhidrosis so at least they wouldn't be surprised by it. I always feel the urge to introduce myself by saying "Oh hi, I'm [....], nice to meet you. Don't mind the sweating, I have a medical condition!" The only time I've seen it in the media was in the tv show Sherlock, and it wasn't exactly super positive representation -_-
@niceNickel4218 Seeing that negative media representation must have been really uncomfortable. As to your wish to introduce your medical condition straight away, I believe that would be my instinct too, in fact it came to mind when reading your story. But of course, it is not really something you could actually do each time you meet someone...
Congrats for finding the humor in the situation! (I'm sure it wasn't quite as funny when it was happening though). I was amaaazed to find out my sweatiness was an actual condition. Thanks for starting this thread! All kinds of advice I hadn't thought of.
<3
Awww *hugs* I think I have a similar thing but never new it had such a fancy name! I used to be a gymnast and I would leave hand stamps on the bars/I couldn't hold onto things. :( Have you talked to a doctor?
Mine isn't fixed completely but I've found some coping things to help such as deep breathing, prayer/meditation/hypnosis, exercise, going on nature walks.
Also may be simple but running my hands under warm water or holding warm tea mug helps me. I also love gardening where I can put my hands in the dirt lol. If I can even go outside and put my hands near the dirt by a tree in the park, I find it so oddly comforting.
@skinicki I can definitely relate with the hand stamps haha. Pushups were always a slippery experience when I was in school. You know, relaxing in nature really does help. I sweat a lot less when I'm outside. I love being indoors with my knitting, tea, and internet, but sometimes I need to remember to get some sunshine.
oh also having private raves in my underwear in my room while listening to a high energy song like "sweet dreams" by euryrhythmics. like sweating out your sweat? lol