Sunday, September 15, 2019

Social Anxiety

I sometimes feel uncomfortable in public.  I'm lousy at small talk, and even with people I know I don't always know how to continue a conversation.  I really dislike crowds.  Oddly, being a teacher in front of a class of teenagers doesn't daunt me at all.

I just read an article by a man who, at 35, was diagnosed with social anxiety and ADHD and was also determined to be on the autism spectrum.  I have no reason to think I have ADHD or measurable autism, but still.... Some of the questions the diagnosing physician asked sort of struck home with me, so I found a couple of online organizations and took their social anxiety quizzes.

One gave me a numerical score:  19/90.  The other just said I have low levels of social anxiety.

So, no social anxiety disorder.  I'm just awkward, I guess.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just means you are probably an introvert. Someone who is energized by ideas. An extrovert is energized by social interaction. I suggest that you look into the Myers-Briggs assessment or books about same. It is based on Jungian personality theory. I have found it does a good job of explaining one's personality. Many folks try to simplify it but it is complex when you get deeper into it.

Darren said...

It surprises people who only know me casually, but I'm *definitely* an introvert!

Ellen K said...

As an artist, I've always been an observer over a performer. Some of my worst high school memories were having to perform solos from memory. I would have the darned things memorized, but freak out when I saw a crowd watching and forget everything. I tend to hang back at parties or in groups. I guess I'm always concerned about intruding.

Anna A said...

I know that Myer-Briggs has helped me understand myself, and in at least one case gave me direction in how to handle an issue. (I noticed that the leader had tendencies to value things over people and since this was a school setting, I made sure that I did the opposite. My personal tendencies are more things also.)