It Is Trish

• Talking in front of people
• Not knowing how to comfort people
(Weird for a counselor?   Yes, but seen from another angle, it took me three years to learn how to comfort people.)
• Trying clothes on in a changing room
(I don’t know that I’m terrified of this, but I definitely avoid it if at all possible, and I haven’t actually bought any clothes in Athens yet because I don’t want to use the changing rooms but I also cannot return clothes to a store 1.5 hours away very easily…okay, so maybe I’m scared of a changing rooms.)
• Answering the door
(Um, this one seems reasonable!!  There could be a killer behind that door, and if you’re a friend, you’ll know to have texted me an hour before you showed up.)
• Talking on/answering the phone
(Eewwww, no thank you.  Nope.  Texting is mankind’s greatest invention, why go backwards, phone calls are evil.)
• People asking questions
(Yeah, I guess.  I like when people show an interest in me, but after three or four I’m like, WHOA can you focus on someone else for a while??)
• Walking past people
(Hahaha, YES, and I didn’t realize I’m weird about this until reading it here.  When I pass someone, I’m hyper aware and thinking, what if they trip me?  what if they push me into the street? what if they get mad and step on my heels? what if I bump into them?)
• Eye contact
(Yup.  At least once a day I have to remind myself to make eye contact with the person I’m talking to.)
• Going into stores
(If they’re unfamiliar stores, yes.)
• Going outside the house
• Busy crowds
• Leaving voicemails 
(Won’t do it.  Also probably won’t listen to your voicemail, sorry, it’s too much like answering the phone.)
• Being watched while doing something 
(STOP WATCHING ME.)
• Eating in front of people
(Yes, but I compensate by covering my mouth with my hand after taking a bite in what I hope is a demure fashion.)
• Ordering food (anywhere)
(Or like, interacting with any kind of staff?  Yes, yes, yes.  I hate those stores where employees ask if they can help you.  BACK UP OFF ME.)
• Interviews
(I’m not…interviewed often.  But yeah, I don’t think I’d like that at all, not unless I had control of the situation.)
• Being in the car
• Making decisions
• Personal space being violated
(Okay, surely THIS one is obvious?  It’s got the word “violated.”  No one likes being violated.)
• When strange people, or anyone you don’t like, are in/around the house
(Um, AGAIN, OBVIOUSLY?  No one wants strange people in the house!!!  Although okay, I also don’t like the friends of roommates to be in the house, and sometimes I sneak to the kitchen or bathroom and hope they don’t see me, but then they do and it’s even weirder because I’m skulking around like a creep.)
• Being paranoid someone can hear me
• Feeling self-conscious all the time
• Crossing the street
• Asking for help
• Parties
(Unless I know everyone.  Or unless I’m throwing the party.  Or unless I can find a second, smaller room for smaller conversations.)
• Participating in class
(“Participation is 10% of your grade.”  “I am okay with 90%.”)
• Working with others
• Restaurants
• Competition
• Voicing opinions
(If I feel safe with someone, it’s fine, but yeah generally, I only share safe and/or funny opinions.)
• Sleeping with someone else/in someone else’s bed
• Being touched
(All of my Greek teachers like to touch my arm or hug me to demonstrate “make someone else warm” and I sit there with a fake smile like: this is fine for me!)
• Being touched sexually
• Being seen naked
• Hearing people laugh nearby
• Public bathrooms/shy bladder
• Starting/keeping a conversation
(I’ve gotten much better at this!  Thanks, counseling degree!)
• Feeling like people hate me
• Always preparing what to say 100x
(This is definitely one of those things I thought everyone did for a very long time.  Only recently did I realize that some people don’t actually rehearse conversations beforehand with, like, line-for-line dialogue options.)
• Being touched/hugged by people I’m not comfortable with
• Feeling like people judge what I say
(All.  The.  Time.  Which is why I am so Nice and Friendly and only tend to share Safe Opinions so that you will Like Me.)
• Not being able to get over embarrassing/stupid things I’ve done/said
• Saying “no”
• Being a pushover
(I’ve gotten SO much better at these two.  In high school, a friend literally told me, “Tricia, I like you because you’ll do anything I ask.”  It shook me up, and started a long journey toward now, when I’ve gotten to a point where I really like saying no.)
• Rejection
(Well, I spent six months in counseling working up to asking a guy out on a date via text message, so….actually, that right there might be all the evidence needed to diagnose me with social anxiety disorder, hahaha!  BUT, the end of that story is that he DID reject me, and amazingly enough I was still alive and loved and a useful member of society afterwards, and it was a great experiential learning experience that rejection is not as deadly as I thought.  Not that I’ve tried again.)
• Coming on too strong
(Me:  I LOVE THAT.  You:  ….Oh.  Okay.  Me:  (Oh shit, abort abort!)  Haha, I mean, like, KIND OF, it’s cool or whatever.)
• Seeing people I know in public
(When I start seeing people I know at the grocery store, do I legitimately think “Welp, time to move to a new city.”  Yes.  Yes, I do.)
• Making new friends
• Being embarrassed
(“Tricia, your face gets so red when you’re embarrassed!”  YOU’RE MAKING ME WANT TO DIE, PLEASE STOP.)
• Being the center of attention
(If I have orchestrated this diva moment, YAS QUEEN, all praise me.  If it came out of nowhere, just go ahead and bury me.)
• Working in groups
• Being late
(I show up everywhere at least 15 minutes early, so I wouldn’t know…oh wait, does that #confirm?)
• Being stared at
(That’s creepy!  No one likes being stared at!)
• Being introduced
• Worrying about people liking me
• Being criticized
(HAHAHA, I literally switched majors in college because of this.  English class: “We will write a lot and critique each other’s work so that you can get better!”  Me:  Hmmm, sociology sounds interesting…)
• Meeting people in authority

According to this Completely Unscientific List, I am 42/57, or 74% Socially Anxious!

Although this post is made mostly in jest, I want to make it clear that if these sorts of anxieties are keeping you from enjoying life, do whatever you can to find help!  If you feel overwhelmed and your anxieties are controlling you, PLEASE tell someone.  Talk to a parent or a friend, or if you’re old enough, find yourself a counselor!  Most of them have online registration forms so you don’t even have to call in.  There is NO SHAME in getting help.  Do what you gotta do to live a life that satisfies.

And probably don’t base your mental health on a random tumblr post.