57: Anxiety Disorder is a Thing
“The defining feature of social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation.”
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
The doctor thinks I have an anxiety disorder.
The anxiety disorder has been killing me for 123 days. Plus or minus 50 years.
It took months of conversations with the doctor for me to understand I have an anxiety disorder and what it has done to my life.
I’d say, “yeah but,” and she’d stop me and say, “Stop letting people in your head. Stop letting people define you.”
As I’ve said elsewhere, I hate admitting anxiety is an issue. “Anxiety is for women. Real men don’t get anxious,” my Pride tells me.
I’m not a narcissist, sociopath, or dangerous. But I’m “very afraid that other people will judge me.”
One of the largest issues of my anxiety disorder is it gives no quarter to mistakes and bad choices. When I do something wrong, I panic. The more wrong, the more panic.
Anxiety immediately pushes me to run and hide or fight. Hence, a troll shows up on my CadConfessional blog and attacks me, I attack back. I hurt C, expect her to attack me, and like a cuttlefish with a keyboard, I shoot ink and run.
Post and pre-discovery pains, sleeplessness, nightmares, and fear constantly hounded me. The trolling certainly hasn’t helped.
I honestly didn’t know how often this was my default position in my interpersonal relationships. Chronic exhaustion, emotional pain, and loss amp it all up.
Recently, the doctor and I decided it was time to add Lexapro to help me focus and calm down. Since the beginning of this Odessy anxiety has been the enemy of patience and restraint. It drives my internal Pursuer and fuels the Drama Triangles. It is exponentially worse than at any other time in my life.
I’ve told people my whole life I am an introvert. They’d never believe me because I can normally compartmentalize it and function. Being around people makes me anxious. I never feel safe. There are reasons for that but no one cares about the old damage right now.
I would tell people, and people will roll their eyes and mock the idea I was anything other than an extrovert. I spoke publically, organized meet-ups, networked, and was a village trustee.
The whole time I was terrified. I felt like an imposter. That is the reality of an anxiety disorder.
After events, I’d go and hide. I’d walk the dog at the golf course. I’d shovel snow at midnight. I’d do for a long drive. I’d eat chocolate cake or sit behind the art tent and try not to make eye contact with people.
Regroup. Recharge. Refocus. Compartmentalize. Do it again. C gave me that courage.
C knows this truth about me and we often talked about how hard of a time I had in some situations. She was always the calm in the eye of my hurricane. With her I felt like I could accomplish anything.
The anxiety is worse the more I care for someone. The most damage in my life has been done by the people closest to me and I’ve never let anyone as close to my heart as C.
I revealed more about my hopes, dreams, and vulnerabilities to her than anyone else. It is why she sees me…even if her pain says she doesn’t. It is one of the reasons I’m having a hard time moving forward and left my heart with her. It’s why I still hide behind my writing: I want to be seen but I don’t want to be seen.
I’m not rushing to fix anything or paint anyone out of my life. I’ll take my time and work through it.
After talking with my Doctor and learning about Social Anxiety Disorders I realize how my infidelity, secret keeping, lies and betrayal were driven by my own anxieties.
My initial selfishness created a cascade of anxieties creating a negative feedback loop progressively making matters worse until the crashed down on C, K and our families.
If you make the time to read years worth of my writings you will see they revolve around the themes below.
Now that I know, I can focus on the solution and not the problems. I’m done clowning around with this. It cost me important friendships, my marriage to K and my partnership with C.
I’ll own it and create boundaries that allow to thrive and not just survive.
SYMPTOMS
For those that are interested here is a list of social anxiety disorder symptoms. The symptoms include:
- Feeling highly anxious about being with other people and having a hard time talking to them
- Feeling very self-conscious in front of other people and worried about feeling humiliated, embarrassed, or rejected, or fearful of offending others
- Being very afraid that other people will judge them
- Worrying for days or weeks before an event where other people will be
- Staying away from places where there are other people
- Having a hard time making friends and keeping friends
- Blushing, sweating, or trembling around other people
- Feeling nauseous or sick to your stomach when other people are around
RESOURCES
WebMD: What Are Anxiety Disorders?
American Psychiatric Association: What Are Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety is often a symptom of stress. You’ve had your fair share of stress and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be over anytime soon unless you make some decisions going forward for the sake of your health that put YOU above everything else. You’re still having to deal with the people left over who aren’t making life easy for you. You have to decide if the situation you are in now, is worth sacrificing your health for or if it’s time for some small changes that give you a break.
Stress and anxiety can take ages to kick in and just as long to reverse. It comes on a chunk at a time as relationship events unfold and you don’t even realise how stressed you are until the negativity that’s been causing it has gone. I can put up with a lot of stress before I crack and it builds on me very gradually, sometimes over several years. It can be very damaging as it manifests in me both physically and mentally. I know the warning signs now, not only of stress, but also of bad relationships that cause it. Lessons learned. I hope you can find some solutions.
It’s funny you say that. I was just talking on Twitter about what is going to happen next. There is a plan slowly coming together.
I see a future…plus the Leapro helps. Lol
Good to hear it. Onwards and upwards!!!!!
I may borrow your playbook. I admire how you’ve embraced your power.
Believe me, it’s taken years to learn and it hasn’t come without its heartache. We all learn from experience. Turning negative experiences into positive skillsets for the future is gold. If I could transfer to you even half of what I’ve discovered you’d be in a better place.
It’s mind over matter and it requires a ‘don’t give a shit’ attitude on occasions. But you can do that without really being a dick about it. I may come across as a tough one but I’m just able to rationalise things and deal. I’m actually a nice person, you might not know it was me writing if you met me. I’m not sure anyone really gets how I do it. In my mind it works though.
I really want you to power through this. Yes you did something bad. But you could have done far worse. You weren’t the first, you sure as hell won’t be the last and everyone around you should learn that lesson and just get over it and let you get on with life.
I compartmentalize well. It’s how I learned to manage anxiety, fears, and shame. In some situations it’s a skill, but in others?
Well, in others it’s an emotional crutch. We all have secrets and blind spots. Everyone. I’ve found those crowing loudest about mine probably are using it to cover their own.
True. And the ones doing the shaming are often the ones with the biggest secrets. Noone is squeaky clean. Maybe you should be utilising that compartmentalisation now to rein in the anxiety? It’ll help you see more clearly. I’m not sure the drugs will, they’re a sticking plaster but the problems are still there. Whatever it takes to get you through.
Thanks. Powering through it though. I’m actually seeing more clearly now. Nightmares have stopped and replaced by things more useful.
That’s a good sign.
Just to add, I am quite transient. I’ve never found the place I call home. I’ve moved city 5 times, mostly due to me simply packing my bags and moving on when relationships turned sour. Friend groups take sides and I can’t be done with that kind of tribal attitude. So I start afresh. I realise that isn’t practical for most people but it’s part of my self sufficient mindset. That might be a good option for you purely to get out of the place where the problem is, cut off all lines of communication with the toxic forces in your life and start again. I would, but I know that isn’t always the right route.
I’m pretty transient at the moment too. I get that. Lol.
I’m pretty committed to walking through the pain. I’m not avoiding any of it.
As long as it isn’t aggrevating the anxiety. If it is, locking off to some of it and dealing with it in smaller chunks might be more beneficial. Sometimes by the time you come back to the feelings, they’ve softened a bit.
I can relate. Anxiety is like a pesticide to human life… Hope you overcome it