The majority of the problem for those of us that suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder is believing the lies our minds conjure up. My first thought before a social event is often: “How will I look to others? I’ll come across as stupid or have a panic attack and everyone will judge me for it.” These type of thoughts lead to the symptoms we all know about–sweating, panic, upset stomach and extreme nervousness.
However, the reality is this: MOST PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES MORE THAN THEY THINK ABOUT YOU. It’s true–humans are selfish and self-absorbed most of the time. Most of us, including myself, lay our heads down at night and think about our problems, money issues, relationship struggles, etc. We don’t spend alot of thought time thinking about how stupid someone else is. However, those of us with S.A.D. like to think everyone is thinking about us all the time and how awkward we are. This is a lie from the pit of hell. We don’t know what others are thinking. We need to challenge ourselves when our brains tell us “Everyone’s going to notice you and your idiosyncracies. You’re a social loser.” This is a lie.
Remember, social anxiety disorder does its best work in the land of “make believe”–when we make up lies and believe them. Fight for the truth and watch much of your anxiety melt away. Remember people are in general more worried about themselves than anything or anyone else. As strange as it sounds, we with social anxiety disorder should take comfort in this fact.
We can beat this!