By Minou - 16/03/2013 05:41 - United States - Williamsburg

Today, my social anxiety got so bad that I spent an entire raffle game desperately praying that I'd lose miserably, just so I wouldn't have to go up on stage and accept it. FML
I agree, your life sucks 31 326
You deserved it 5 845

Minou_fml tells us more.

Minou_fml 22

I didn't enter the raffle on purpose! It was a work event, and they gave us a ticket when we came in the door without telling us exactly what it was for. They had us rip them in half and keep one, then put the other in a container. I thought it was for attendance, or the food, or something. Then, toward the end of the event, they started drawing tickets and calling out the numbers on them for various prizes.

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Top comments

BountyBass 13

Lose miserably in a raffle? That's pretty bad anxiety attacks, maybe next time not enter the raffle or not be around enough people to have a raffle

116 12

Comments

SaturnV 25

I think many people can relate to this on one level or another, even without crippling social anxiety like OP's. There are many of us out there who prefer to receive a minimal amount of attention when possible, and being called up on to a stage to receive a prize will definitely garner that sort of unwanted attention (and usually applause, which can aggravate existing apprehension). The nervous reaction of being in the spotlight may never completely go away, but perhaps OP can work on her social anxiety and get to the point where these types of situations pose a temporary nuisance, but can still be handled gracefully without any panic attacks. Best wishes, OP.

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noelasis94 18

This is sad I have nothing funny to say other than get better, and be the change you wanna see.

4 1
FightMyLiger 19

And the winner of a lifetime prescription of Xanax is... Minou! Some people just need them, and there's no shame in it. You shouldn't have to suffer like that.

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vbmg152 18

I completely understand! My son has severe social anxiety!

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rebeltaai 7

Did you win anything?

0 0
Minou_fml 22

Thankfully, no. I was off my a number on one though.

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Kn0wledge123 21

Man I've been really shy before but I don't think I've gotten this bad. I empathize. Here's a trick I learned when dealing with social anxiety; surround yourself with three or four friends at a time. Like hang out at their house or something. When you're comfortable enough slowly but surely, surround yourself with more and more people, adding one or two more people each time. This will grow your comfort level dealing with large groups and soon large crowds won't effect you as much. Also, try joining Facebook groups with 100+ people who are local and communicate with them often. Sooner or later you all will decide to meet up at a BBQ or something. This helped me deal with my shyness & insecurity. Hope you get some help with it, bro. Good luck.

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Minou_fml 22

Thank you! That's wonderful advice. :) I actually did a tad bit more elaborating on my personal reasoning for anxiety in the comment below this one.

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yeti37 16

For once I'm not making a pun and commenting because you're from my beloved Virginia. I used to be paranoid of public speaking and attention but realized that immersion in the fear worked best for me. I forced my self to get better, get teaching certification, and face my fear. Almost twenty years later I've won teaching awards and have mostly overcome it. It's not for everyone, but I'm trying to say that you can overcome it if you work at it. Good luck OP.

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Minou_fml 22

Well, to be honest, I'm perfectly fine with the public as a whole. I work in customer service at a theme park, which often involves talking to large groups of people, dealing with upset guests, etc. And sometimes I work as an announcer on one of our transportation vehicles, using a microphone to talk to hundreds of people at a time. I think what it boils down to, truly, is that right now, I'm struggling to lose weight (because I found out a week ago I have a low thyroid and just started the medication) so I have serious body issues. So, I'm not comfortable in front of crowds like that because I feel like everyone is thinking, "Wow who let that whale out of the ocean?!" etc, which makes it hard to stand being in front of a crowd without worrying constantly about every little thing I do. I think once I lose the weight I want to lose, my anxiety will go away. Thank you so, so much for the support, though. I'm glad immersion worked for you!

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yeti37 16

Thanks for the follow up. I appreciate what you must go through. Hang in there, it gets better. ...now I need to get back to my sardonic self on FML. ;-)

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DobbyTheFreeElf 4

i know what you mean OP i have hypothyroidism (under active thyroid ) as well, and also struggle with my weight. all through school i avoided human contact, but eventually learned to be proud of my curves and rep the BBW. ive never been happier :)

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23Z9TZO 18

Why would you enter?

1 4
23Z9TZO 18

I'm sure the explanations somewhere in the early abundance of comments, I'm just to lazy to look

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