Tag: social anxiety

Social anxiety can make dating tricky, or if I’m honest, it can make it a nightmare worthy of a Stephen King novel. As someone who feels uncomfortable being the centre of attention, my performance on a date was never going to be Oscar-worthy. After all, as Carrie Bradshaw famously said; “first dates are just interviews, with cocktails”. The fear of saying the ‘wrong thing’ or coming across like a loser was all consuming for me. Thoughts such as “you’re acting weird, say something interesting,” would circulate through my brain, like a bully taunting me. These thoughts have made me act in peculiar ways over the years. Some of my closest friends thought I was an ‘ice queen’ when we first met, because social anxiety used to dictate my behaviour. For example, if I really liked a person (either in a romantic or friendship way) I tended to be aloof and avoid eye contact. It came across as though I was bored, but it was actually anxiety. However, you don’t have to be a slave to social anxiety. Over the years I’ve picked... Read More