Social Anxiety (Patreon)

Constant paranoia that others are judging you is not restricted to introverts (although it does seem to be more common). I have been described as a “people person,” am easy to get along with, and I am pretty comfortable with small talk in low-stress environments. However, my obsession with people-pleasing, chronic worry everyone is mad at me, and anxiety about being judged all stem from the same place— low self-esteem and an incredibly critical inner voice. If I’ve been right about my suspicions once before, confirmation bias tries to convince my brain I’m always right, and the paranoia spirals out of control quickly.

There are a million other thoughts I wish I could fit on here (deep hatred of making appointments over the phone, avoiding eye contact when nervous, apologizing for existing or taking up space, and so many more). I’ve found out recently that social anxiety disorder (SAD) often goes hand-in-hand with ADHD, with comorbidity estimates as high as 40%. The more I learn about ADHD, the more I realize how much it affects nearly all of the thoughts I have on a daily basis.