Posts by Maria Price3

Lawrence Sullivan2 said:I spent about a month in a psychiatric ward at Mayo Clinic, and I was on Xanax for five years straight.
I just started a brand new treatment plan, though, and I'm feeling really optimistic about it... hopefully everything goes smoothly.
Has anyone here ever tried Katenon? How did it work out for you??? 🙏🙏

First time I'm hearing about that one. What were you being treated for?

analogmarlin4 said:I found myself stuck in a room full of strangers the other day. There were six people there, all split up into little pairs, just chatting away. Suddenly, this wave of pure awkwardness hit me—I was sweating up a storm because I had absolutely no clue how to break the ice. I felt too intrusive to interrupt any of those couples mid-sentence, and then this nagging thought popped into my head: what if I actually tried to say something and they all just laughed at me?
It felt like I was standing under a giant spotlight with everyone watching my every move.

Now, I’m just sitting here kicking myself, feeling this lingering anxiety because I missed my chance to actually meet
someone new.
The thing is, if I run into them again, I’ll probably freeze up all over again. I really want to strike up a conversation, but that fear of being rejected or made fun of is just so paralyzing.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this?

Look, it isn't a crime to stay quiet when you're out in public. Honestly, sometimes it’s actually pretty nice when the quiet ones just drift off for a second and leave things be—who knows 😕😁 Some people just need more time to unwind, or maybe they need to see a group a few times before they finally "find their rhythm." You don't just walk up to strangers and instantly act like they're your lifelong best friends. That's just not how it works. If they were talking about something you actually cared about, you probably would have jumped in anyway. It sounds like it was just some superficial, overly polished social gathering—don't sweat it too much.

This is just brutal, honestly—pretty horrific, but also undeniably true.

Laura Jones56 said:Well, I suppose looking away is just a classic sign of submission in our culture. But since you already know all that and never bother to lower your gaze, I guess you're just confused why everyone else does. Is it really that hard to grasp?
I find certain individuals quite baffling; I mean, don't they realize that if we make eye contact five times and then I happen to glance away—just to make it look completely accidental on my part—that I'm signaling a total lack of interest in any kind of connection? Yet, they keep staring. They think they’re exerting some sort of dominance, but in my estimation, they just come across as socially oblivious. Personally, I have no trouble maintaining intense eye contact... people actually tell me I tend to stare a bit too long during conversations... It seems like a mix of genuine interest and a touch of neurodivergence, or perhaps insecurity coupled with a lack of social cues. I guess without that certain level of detachment, it's all just a mess.

Whenever I think back to this one guy with Asperger's (which is pretty much what I called him to his face), it gives me the chills. Honestly, he just got under my skin so much that looking back, I feel like screaming, "What do you even want?!" But, well, I was being myself—polite and composed, I guess. 🕺

silverwolf88 said:Have you actually seen any American TV news or read any papers in the last ten years—or longer, for that matter—where some journalist felt the need to interview me about my status as part of the long-standing male minority wearing leggings?

Why is it that American media outlets, acting as our supposed sources of information, stay so silent regarding this particular type of minority?

The jogger minority?
Who actually gives a damn about leggings?

What kind of male minority are we talking about here?
What kind of panties?

cosmiclynx79 said:I freeze up when I feel eyes on me. I often intend to get things done right when they ask, but my coworkers always beat me to it. It ends up being awkward having to approach my sister personally to try and make up for it.

Sent from my iPhone 12 using Reddit

Yeah, that's definitely uncomfortable. But honestly, as awkward as it feels, maybe you could try asking your sister for a hand? Who knows, she might actually be happy to help you out.

Alright, I’m going to share a bit of my experience with social anxiety, and then I’m deleting my account here. There was this one stretch where it got so intense—every single time I sat down for coffee with coworkers, I was convinced my hands were shaking. Maybe they actually were. I couldn't even bring a cup up to my lips. I couldn't even lift it. I could just sit there staring at it. Naturally, I started avoiding both the coffee breaks and the people. Where did that lead me? Into even deeper depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and... well, let's just say I started skipping classes at my university to avoid having to speak.
I ended up using this little trick. Every time I tried to take a sip of coffee, I would just fixate on a single point in the distance and force myself through it. Eventually, it stopped—I don't even know when. I'm not trying to compare my struggles to a cup of coffee, but that's just how social phobia works.

Is the real issue that you feel like everyone is staring at your hands while you're doing it? Maybe you could ask someone to sit in and walk through it with you? It shouldn't be that much of an ordeal—you mentioned you know how to handle this, so is the actual hurdle just the fact that your coworkers are watching? I wonder... if you were able to get through it successfully, would those suicidal thoughts and the urge to self-harm actually subside, or would they still be there?
Could you try to make an appointment with your psychiatrist tomorrow?

cosmiclynx79 said:Psychiatrists won't see me until the 25th, but I’m going to call again and demand an earlier slot. It's urgent.

Sent from my iPhone 12 using Reddit

Yeah. Urgent, urgent! That's the magic word. If they won't budge, I guess you just head over there and camp out on the sidewalk if you have to.
And honestly, it really does sound urgent. Good luck!

cosmiclynx79, have you reached out to your psychiatrist lately? If not, I’d say now might actually be a good time—just be honest with her about what’s really weighing on you and pinpoint exactly what's causing the most friction right now.

Easy to talk about that "doll in a shop window" feeling when you aren't the one doing it. Honestly, don't go into serving if you don't absolutely have to. It’s physically exhausting, sure, but the mental toll is even worse. You're constantly sprinting from point A to point B, trying to memorize every single face and order, pushing yourself to be fast—not to mention dealing with all the ridiculous, entitled customers who think the world revolves around them. And you have to do all of this while wearing a fake smile. Once the rush dies down, you're stuck cleaning the bar, the floors, the bathrooms... then comes the dreaded closing out. Counting every bottle and every cent. And it rarely adds up. Rarely. Then there's the literal heavy lifting—moving crates and rearranging patio furniture. To top it all off, you have to deal with a manager whose condescending attitude is just the icing on the cake; you basically have to laugh off their disrespect, and by the end of the shift, you're almost at the point where you want to crack a joke just to cope. There are exceptions, I suppose, but working in a place that isn't yours... it's easy to end up drinking too much just to numb it all.
Seriously people, just finish your degree.

Edit: someone deleted my post because I went on a whole rant 🙂)

darksurfer4 said:She already knows deep down that this isn't her calling; honestly, I think FF works better for her than any actual medical training ever could. If she’s already tackling English, she might as well dive into German or maybe even Swedish while she's at it.

The poor girl is having a nightmare just trying to make or take a simple phone call lately. Between her sisters constantly being glued to their phones and doctors being perpetually tied up on the line—especially with everything going on during this whole pandemic era—it's a miracle anyone gets through at all.

If she has the cash, the time, and the actual drive to switch majors—assuming that's what she really wants—then I say go for it.👍

Do you actually want this career down the road? Looking at things from the outside, today clearly wasn't your best day. We’ve all been there—getting blood drawn only to have experienced nurses leave you with massive bruises.
Does the idea of doing this professionally one day actually excite you, or are you just going through the motions because your parents wanted you to? Maybe you won't have to grind through all this training later on.
If it was that obvious during your clinical rotations that people were questioning why you even enrolled... well, I don't know. Either it’s glaringly apparent that this isn't your calling, or maybe you're just blowing your current struggles out of proportion.
And please, don't run to a psych ward—what's the point? To just postpone your issues? You'll sit there for a bit, feeling comforted by everyone patting you on the shoulder while your problems continue to snowball in the real world. They'll be waiting for you, even bigger than before, once you step back out.

There's always the option of taking a gap year, right? For an internal reset. Though, honestly, I think you need to come to terms with what you actually want first.
Panic attacks are terrifying, but they're so common nowadays that it's almost become a standard part of the experience. I doubt you're the only one struggling. No college program is easy—there's panic, there's nausea, there's all sorts of stuff. Any student who actually made it through (even without any mental health struggles) would tell you the same thing. Then you have those ones who act like they know nothing or didn't study a thing... whatever.
Are you even prepping at home for your labs? What are you guys doing tomorrow? You should be preparing both mentally and academically—check the textbooks, or honestly, there's probably a YouTube tutorial on how to draw blood if you just look for one. I mean, I guess. You're a student, you lack experience, so it's fine that you don't know everything yet. All you can really do is prepare for the next lab session.

darksurfer4 said:And you’re just as full of yourself and self-righteous as that little friend of yours.😁

Social phobia, when it's coupled with a whole laundry list of other disorders, is actually best treated by throwing someone straight into a high-stress job surrounded by crowds of people where some might even be dying or suffering in agony. Honestly, I don't know what I would do on this forum if it weren't for you acting so incredibly brilliant, and your equally "enlightened" friend too.🙂

And so lovely and charming, too...🙂

Just so we don't drift too far off-topic.
There are actual clinical methods for treating social phobia—really, there are. But sure, why bother? It's probably better to just lock all the socially anxious people in a basement somewhere so they can go about their business in peace. No, definitely not that.

I'm speaking from the perspective of someone living with bipolar disorder, emotional instability, and social phobia. Someone who works directly with people. Someone for whom life can be quite a struggle. I have this ability—or maybe it's a curse—to feel exactly what others are feeling, even their physical pain. Because of that, I actually know how to make someone's day a little easier, or at least a bit brighter. It's why my clients, my coworkers, and even my managers tend to value and appreciate me. And all that time I spent stressing out during my education, wondering if I was even capable of doing this kind of work? It was all pretty much a waste of energy.

If this is just some projection of mine—which, let's be honest, it inevitably is—and if I've completely missed the point of the thread, then just ignore me.

Edit. When I head into work, my bipolar tendencies, my emotional swings, and my social anxiety stay right at home.

briskbison47 said:I spent a solid minute just trying to figure out who "Evil" was supposed to be and what kind of reference that was...
Go screw yourself. 🤣

🙂 Look, you can't have too much Evil.

🙂🙂

darksurfer4 said:It’s absolutely ridiculous when someone tries to act shocked on behalf of another person while clearly having no clue what’s actually going on. That describes you perfectly in this instance; you didn't even bother to read her full post, otherwise, you would have realized it isn't just about social phobia. Or do you honestly think people in America are being hospitalized for months on end just because of social anxiety?!? How yes no🤦🤦

It's highly debatable what kind of career someone like her could handle, though perhaps she'd be better suited for something like speech therapy, teaching English or German, or doing some freelance translation work.

Who are you to tell me what I understand and what I don't? You have no idea what I've been through, where I've been, where I am now, or the path I've walked—and the one I still have ahead of me. You're being terrible.

What do you know about who she is or what she can or can't do? What do you think would be better for her?? You're being absolute Evil.

Gerald Gomez43 said:From what I can gather, she’s on antidepressants.

I have to admit, those posts from 😬
actually gave me a good laugh.

Me too 😬

Raymond Clark7 said:And what's she supposed to do once she's there if her boss tells her, "Hey, you're doing great" (mostly just because they're desperate for workers), while she's sitting there every single morning with a knot in her stomach, knowing she's only 25 and still has another 40 years of this ahead of her?

Well, I guess she'll just grab a normal drink—much like all her colleagues who head into the office every day with that same sinking feeling in their gut. Just kidding. I really hope she doesn't.

Yeah... hopefully she finally moved on. Silence, let us know if you actually survived those drills?