Something that affected me from the pandemic was losing confidence. I was always a shy person but, being isolated for so long and not having a normal senior year really made me a hermit crab. I really do not enjoy socializing; it drains me after the encounter, and it could take a while for me to want to socialize again. Being in college made it really worse because there are so many people that are mixed ages and I get embarrassed really easily. I’ve had to go into the school for in person classes and it is pretty intimidating, making that already bad, I have a public speaking class. I wanted challenge myself and see how bad my social anxiety got, I also wanted to get it out the way because it’s required for my major. I’ve noticed that I have gotten a little better but won’t be engaging in any in person chatting.
Something I do to cope with being socially anxious is listen to music, I try blocking out any intrusive thoughts and if I can’t listen to music, I take myself out the situation because I rather not be uncomfortable. Sometimes if I feel up for it, I mentally challenge myself to be social and not be afraid. It’s still hard to deal with but being genuine and nice to people can go a long way. I think something I noticed about myself: if I get too excited, and I can either say something embarrassing or just tense up and drop trying to talk at all. Then I just listen because I rather listen to someone than talk.
Wow, Abel! After reading about your writing task I can totally relate. It’s kind of hard to socialize with other people. I really loved reading about your resilience story.
I completely agree music has helped me with a lot of my anxiety attacks. You feel this sense of comfort in the music.
Abel: THis is very perceptive and shows that you are self-aware. I believe that other people feel similarly, so it’s not uncommon to be socially anxious. I like your coping strategies.