Women With Anxiety Hate Themselves For Letting These 7 Things Hold Them Back

Anxiety isn’t cute. It isn’t charming. It isn’t something to be glorified. It sucks. It makes life harder than it has to be.

1. You hate going anywhere alone.

There’s no way you’d go to the movie theater without a friend, and the idea of eating dinner in a restaurant by yourself is too much to handle. You don’t even like pulling up to drive-throughs or answering the door for the pizza guy. When you’re hungry, you prefer foraging for leftovers in your fridge.

2. You hate going on first dates.

What do you talk about? What if he tries to kiss you? What if he doesn’t want to kiss you? Sometimes, you’re so pessimistic that you end up canceling. And then you hate yourself for canceling. You know that, if you would’ve pushed yourself to leave, you would’ve had a great time. But in that moment, leaving was an impossibility.

3. You hate going to parties.

You want to see your friends. You want to have a good time. But you have to be in the right mood to socialize. If you’re having a rough day, then it’s going to be hard to pump yourself up enough to get dressed and get out the door. But you know, if you don’t go, people are going to talk. You don’t want to look like a snob. And you don’t want to look ungrateful. You hate how hard it is for you to talk to people–even the people you love.

4. You hate shopping.

You hate shopping alone, because when you do, you have to do all the talking yourself. If you need help finding something, you have to find a worker to assist you. And when it’s time to pay, you have to talk to the cashier. But sometimes, when your anxiety is acting up, the thought of socializing is unbearable. You might end up walking out of the store without buying what you need.

5. You hate staring convos with your crush.

You don’t believe that guys should make the first move when girls are just as capable of initiating conversations and coming up with date ideas. But that doesn’t mean you’re able to do it yourself. You don’t want to miss out on your opportunity to talk to a cutie, but you it’s hard enough for you to muster a smile, let alone say hello. Sometimes, you even have trouble texting, because you know you’re going to freak out during the few minutes it takes them to respond. The anticipation is just too stressful.

6. You hate going to new places.

You’re dying to visit the bar that opened down the street, but what if it’s crowded? What if you can’t get the bartender’s attention to order your drink? What if you can’t find the bathrooms? What if you don’t know anyone there? What if you make a complete fool of yourself? You worry incessantly about minuscule things that other people wouldn’t even think about.

7. You hate talking on the phone.

Before a call, you like to plan out what to say. And if you have no idea where the conversation is going to lead, it stresses you out, because you’re going to have to think on your feet. That’s why, if someone unexpectedly calls you, you’ll be tempted to ignore the ringing. But if you don’t answer it, then you’ll have to call them back, and that would be even worse. For you, chitchat is a chore.