Birthdays and Social Anxiety
I hate to say it, but I am a party pooper. Not for your parties, my own. Social anxiety affects many facets of my life; it does not take a break on my birthday.
I hate to say it, but I am a party pooper. Not for your parties, my own. Social anxiety affects many facets of my life; it does not take a break on my birthday.
“I appreciate you, my love. I appreciate that you allow your texts to go unanswered for weeks at a time. I appreciate you giving me space when I feel the walls are closing in on me. I appreciate you forcing your way into my mind when I have been quiet for too long. And I appreciate your reassuring hand when my thoughts tell me to push you away and my actions carry out this order accordingly.”
There is a common misconception that being an introvert means you must have some form of social anxiety; the two terms are not interchangeable nor mutually exclusive. Introversion and social anxiety share some commonalities, but they do not necessarily go hand-in-hand.
I thought it would be nice to share my experience as an introvert with social anxiety would help differentiate the two.