Social Anxiety?

I actually kind of like crowded malls. I like to watch people, but, I get anxious over being forced to interact with people. Examples: co-workers, friends of friends, or friends of family members, etc. If it's not my specific choice to interact with that person, it makes me anxious. If it's a stranger that I don't ever plan on seeing again, it's not a problem, I can actually come off as quite extroverted and friendly. Perhaps, I'm a little backwards here.

 

i feel most alone when i am amongst many people, but only in circumstances where i feel a sense of obligation to engage in shared conversation or activity with them due to generally expected social conventions. i think Black Swan mentioned this.

nevertheless, i do become openly receptive and more outgoing despite feeling this. i'm not sure whether it is a learned protective mechanism by adapting to the route of least resistance or if it is due to my innate nature of being sensitively in tune with the emotional ambiences of individuals whether alone or in a collective. it's probably both.

also, i find that the energy generated by collectives are rather contagious.

when it is positive on the whole, i tend to absorb and reflect it outward without any constraint or discomfort. i just live and let live in these situations and have a really good time (e.g. dancing in clubs).

when it is negative though, as when i feel the tension beneath the surface for instance, i pick up on that as well and feel extremely displaced when most others are maintaining on a happy face. it's just such a strain since i think i should maintain it out of politeness and to not rock the boat so to speak.

don't worry CoffeeShopDiva , i'm more than sure you are not the only one who experiences these social situations as such. i think the stress must be a significant amount and to have a specific quality to it to be considered social anxiety (though i'm not knowledgable in that area). perhaps it is more due to the territorial nature of introversion or possibly because too much stimulation from the external world drain us.

 

I don't like being in a mall alone, mainly because I fucking hate malls. Over priced, always a ton of unruly teenagers running around and it's stressful. If I'm with someone I know, I'm fine for about fifteen minutes. Then I will leave, whether my friend comes with me or not.

Usually I like being in small coffeeshops and discussing things. The mixture of people are more chill there, even though you'd think they might be a bit jittery with all the coffee they're drinking. The jittery ones are usually jabbing on the phone and hurridly running to their car- buisnessfolk, or college students who have been up for three days.

Anyway, yeah, I'm not around crowds a lot but in the past when I was I felt like murdering people. It gets too noisy and somehow stresses me, I don't know how it does, it just does.

 

That isn't social anxiety. Social anxiety is a problem is social situations; it affects your ability to interact with others. What you are experiencing is another kind of anxiety.

I don't have anxiety in malls, but outside of malls I am very anxious around people I don't know if they look like they might jump me.

 

I read somewhere that Extroverts are more likely to experience Social anxiety than Introverts. Just before I continue. I said more likely, and not 'only'. Okay, this is the reason why some Extroverts get confused for Introverts. Even if they show classic signs of Extroversion; Like getting energy from people. If there are to many people they start to worry or fear thus leading to shyness.

I've met an ENTP who had Social Anxiety. He wanted my life because I am trapped in an introverted world. I only get to be around people a few times a month. I want to escape, and he is trapped in an extroverted world. He only wants to be around a few (10) people.

 

10 people? Shit, you call that a few?
D: Dayum.

 

;/ Yeah. I live in an area with zero people my age though. Only old people about to die. (70+) I call where I live 'The Dead Zone'

 

I think I am shy; it's different.