I'm sure many of us have dealt with this before, whether the severity being extreme or subtle. I've always been an anxious person, at first, my anxiety was based around me obtaining some sort of condition or disease, and thus forth into early adulthood it has unfortunately taken Its toll on my social life.
Let's start at the very beginning.
The school was once my happy place, somewhere I could give myself moments of relief acting like goofs with my crazy friends, especially when I was younger. But when grade 9 hit, I started to feel... weird, not necessarily sad, not necessarily anxious, instead just something boiling up inside my bones which caused me to be less outgoing, more careless, more private and more and more distant. At the time it wasn't an issue. I was okay, I still had friends, and even though I was less talkative and more reserved I was able to be somewhat happy.
Then, in the summer before grade 10 something switched inside me. I'd stay cooped up in my room all day, I'd make plans with friends and not follow through, I'd shut my phone off for days and it's hard to believe, but my whole view and beliefs on life drastically changed overnight. I didn't think anything of it, simply me being a "teen" or perhaps that I was in a way growing up faster than all the rest of my peers and simply didn't fit in with them anymore, which is naive... But also a coping mechanism, something I realize now.
Then it became an excuse after an excuse. When school started my number one word was "no" and my number one sentence was "I have a stomach ache". Let's just say I ended up failing four courses. Which strangely I was fine with.
Grade 11 hit the fan and it hit it hard. The year prior I had barely attended classes, barely talked to friends, and let's just say lunchtime was hell. I sat alone every lunch hour, sat alone in every class and the only time I spoke was when I was spoken too. The avoidance started to get worse too, I'd avoid walking by people in the hallways, I'd find the best times to walk out of the library without being seen walking out by anybody, and occasionally (more than occasionally) I spent my lunch hours hiding in the washroom stall. Thankfully, though, I got set up with a school psychologist. I've read up on coping skills, and I've tried plenty, they feel like they're working but when I get in actual social situations the confidence withers away and I'm back where I started.
Does anybody have some tips for this sort of problem?
Let's start at the very beginning.
The school was once my happy place, somewhere I could give myself moments of relief acting like goofs with my crazy friends, especially when I was younger. But when grade 9 hit, I started to feel... weird, not necessarily sad, not necessarily anxious, instead just something boiling up inside my bones which caused me to be less outgoing, more careless, more private and more and more distant. At the time it wasn't an issue. I was okay, I still had friends, and even though I was less talkative and more reserved I was able to be somewhat happy.
Then, in the summer before grade 10 something switched inside me. I'd stay cooped up in my room all day, I'd make plans with friends and not follow through, I'd shut my phone off for days and it's hard to believe, but my whole view and beliefs on life drastically changed overnight. I didn't think anything of it, simply me being a "teen" or perhaps that I was in a way growing up faster than all the rest of my peers and simply didn't fit in with them anymore, which is naive... But also a coping mechanism, something I realize now.
Then it became an excuse after an excuse. When school started my number one word was "no" and my number one sentence was "I have a stomach ache". Let's just say I ended up failing four courses. Which strangely I was fine with.
Grade 11 hit the fan and it hit it hard. The year prior I had barely attended classes, barely talked to friends, and let's just say lunchtime was hell. I sat alone every lunch hour, sat alone in every class and the only time I spoke was when I was spoken too. The avoidance started to get worse too, I'd avoid walking by people in the hallways, I'd find the best times to walk out of the library without being seen walking out by anybody, and occasionally (more than occasionally) I spent my lunch hours hiding in the washroom stall. Thankfully, though, I got set up with a school psychologist. I've read up on coping skills, and I've tried plenty, they feel like they're working but when I get in actual social situations the confidence withers away and I'm back where I started.
Does anybody have some tips for this sort of problem?
, you are not alone.