From Moderate Introvert to Avoidant Hermit: How My Social Anxiety Worsened The Past Year
And what I’m doing to get back to being more of a “human”.
The pandemic gave me a legit excuse to avoid social gatherings and say no to in-person events, no questions asked. Work-wise, nothing changed. I was still sitting at home in front of the screen, trying to build my future by working my butt off in the present.
The pandemic did uncover some minor mental health obstacles I had thus far been ignoring. I call them minor because I’m able to get by. I always have been. They are, however, in the way of moving past “surviving” and getting closer towards “thriving”.
The challenge of dealing with humans in everyday situations
The night before a scheduled call, I can barely sleep. I overthink how it’s going to be, how well I will perform, how awkward things will probably get when I stumble over my words and the look on the other person’s face as they wait for me to recompose myself. There might be a lag causing interruptions. That would be welcomed, as it would dismiss any awkward situations. Blame it on the tech, right?
One time during a business meeting, I was asked to lead the conversation without warning. You could…
