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.