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Original poster

Very 'normal' things that make you feel awkward

644 replies

DancingDucks · 21/02/2025 10:46

First of all I'm sticking a 'lighthearted' in here. 😊

A friend and I had this conversation the other day and it made us both laugh, so maybe it'll cheer up a wet and windy day for some.

Some of mine:

When people wish me happy birthday on Facebook. It's very lovely of people but makes me feel so weird and embarrassed, so I now have my birthday hidden.

Waiting to get off a bus. Not sure what I think will happen, but I get all weird and stressed in case I forget to thank the driver. Which would never happen because it's so drummed into me.

Standing behind people at a cash machine. Even though I stand well back, I fear I might look a shifty and robby type, so try to arrange my face as benignly as possible, hence looking slightly vacant.

Walking past my own house. This is so weird and I've no idea why it makes me feel like I should give a jolly wave to my house.

Please tell me I'm not alone in my weirdness ...

OP posts:
Itsmehiya · 21/02/2025 14:25

Dogaredabomb · 21/02/2025 14:15

I am very scared of being bitten by a snake whilst on the loo.

It IS a thing, it could happen.

Yes- I’m scared of a rat biting my bum!

Fourleggedfanatic · 21/02/2025 14:25

Sitting in my car on the rare occasions that I take it to be washed rather than doing it (badly) myself. At the hand car wash where a person/ people wash it for you, I feel awkward and in a big car wash machine I worry about parking it in the wrong place and something getting knocked off it as a result!

Todaytodaytodaytoday · 21/02/2025 14:28

There's a disabled toilet near the office which I use from time to time. You can't shut the door manually, you have to press a 'close' button. There is a big gap of time between you pressing the button and the door closing. I have to stand there akwardly waiting in the toilet for it to close and there are always people walking past as it is located in a lobby. Hate it.

Eminybob · 21/02/2025 14:31

paddyclampster · 21/02/2025 14:23

Going into cafes and coffee shops and not knowing whether it’s order at the counter / table service / self service !

Yes this! They really need to make it more obvious

TinyGingerCat · 21/02/2025 14:33

Shaking hands with randomers and saying "peace be with you" in church. I'm not religious, MiL is very religious so occasionally i have to go to mass. It is making me feel sick just thinking about it.

MarkWithaC · 21/02/2025 14:33

Todaytodaytodaytoday · 21/02/2025 14:28

There's a disabled toilet near the office which I use from time to time. You can't shut the door manually, you have to press a 'close' button. There is a big gap of time between you pressing the button and the door closing. I have to stand there akwardly waiting in the toilet for it to close and there are always people walking past as it is located in a lobby. Hate it.

Oh yes, like the loos on some trains where you stand and wait for about three hours until the doors decide to slide ponderously shut and the people perched on the fold-out seats outside stare at you in the full knowledge that you're about to drop your trousers, sit on the loo and take a piss (or worse, a shit).

Dogaredabomb · 21/02/2025 14:34

I never touch door handles in public places and hope no one sees me using my sleeves to do so.

Flumpster34 · 21/02/2025 14:34

Another one here who hates the awkwardness of haircuts.

I am rubbish at small talk so it peters out. Then I try to avoid eye contact and I can hear the other ladies having a nice old chinwag on either side of me whist I pretend to sip my tea and be engrossed in a magazine.

I always worry my hairdresser feels resentful that she's got an unfriendly client so I compensate by being over enthusiastic about the actual haircut. I told the last one I would write them a glowing review. So cringey and awkward.

DriveMeCrazy1974 · 21/02/2025 14:37

This is a good thread, OP! I have so many things that make me feel awkward and, yet, everybody else seems to be OK with them. I don't like listening to new music in front of people because it just makes me feel uncomfortable, which is weird because I am everybody's go to person for random pop trivia!
I don't like gardening or cleaning the windows in case somebody comes along and comments or just makes random conversation.
I feel awkward if I'm walking in the street and see people I know as I know I'll have to have a conversation and it just feels 'forced'!
I have the filthiest sense of humour and yet, as a woman of nearly 51, I still feel uncomfortable watching any kind of grown up scene on TV (see, can't even word that properly) and will always counter that embarrassment by making some silly joke. The weird thing is - I'm not particularly a prude, I just don't like it there in my face. I actively look for shows that I don't think will include 'scenes of an adult nature!'.
We live in a block of flats and I wait until I know there's nobody in the shared entrance before going out!
The list goes on and on!
I've just realised I might have issues! Ha ha!

Original poster
DancingDucks · 21/02/2025 14:39

Loos on trains or coaches are horrific. My sister had a hilarious to me terrible experience about 25 years ago when she was a skint student and got the coach from Glasgow to London for £8. She went to the toilet in the middle of the night and the lock felt a bit dodgy so she was holding onto it the whole time she was going for a wee. The coach braked really suddenly and she flew out of the door with her drawers at her ankles. Luckily for her it was 3am and dark but she is absolutely certain that at least half a dozen people had an unexpected full moon that night. I nearly choked to death laughing at this when she told me, in a show of sibling support.

OP posts:
BunnyLake · 21/02/2025 14:39

TinyGingerCat · 21/02/2025 14:33

Shaking hands with randomers and saying "peace be with you" in church. I'm not religious, MiL is very religious so occasionally i have to go to mass. It is making me feel sick just thinking about it.

I had to go to mass as a child and we never did this (Catholic church). I didn’t go for years then agreed to go with a religious relative and the church did this! I was mortified, especially when I also had to shake hands and say it to my relative. I don’t think I’ve been back since. It’s cringe on another level.

Original poster
DancingDucks · 21/02/2025 14:41

It's so comforting to know that we all have our own weird little awkwardness. 😊

OP posts:
the80sweregreat · 21/02/2025 14:45

I don't like any kind of sex scenes in films or dramas. I become really embarrassed

DriveMeCrazy1974 · 21/02/2025 14:46

Flumpster34 · 21/02/2025 14:34

Another one here who hates the awkwardness of haircuts.

I am rubbish at small talk so it peters out. Then I try to avoid eye contact and I can hear the other ladies having a nice old chinwag on either side of me whist I pretend to sip my tea and be engrossed in a magazine.

I always worry my hairdresser feels resentful that she's got an unfriendly client so I compensate by being over enthusiastic about the actual haircut. I told the last one I would write them a glowing review. So cringey and awkward.

I worked in a hairdressers when I was younger and we actually had a lady, who thought she was a lot posher than she was because she was friends with a famous author's wife, who would tell us she didn't feel like talking while having her hair done today! At the time it seemed rude, but when I think of it now, I think perhaps she just found it awkward!
Trying to find new things to make small talk about when you're a junior in a salon can be hard, especially when we were told don't talk about religion, politics or anything argumentative, but we did need to talk to customers as a lot of them enjoyed that side of the salon experience.
I was lucky, we had lovely customers on the whole and I was very talkative, they usually led the conversation anyway! Don't worry about your hairdresser thinking she's got an unfriendly client, she's probably glad to take a break from talking for a while!

BunnyLake · 21/02/2025 14:46

The way my house is situated I have no passers by, not even neighbours, so it’s an introvert’s dream. At some point I will have to sell it (joint owned with ex) but the thought that I probably wont be able to buy another ‘introverted’ house fills me with feelings of horror and awkwardness at having my front door exposed to the world, with me feeling exposed coming in and going out of it. Lately I’ve been thinking about that a lot.

MargaretThursday · 21/02/2025 14:46

DancingDucks · 21/02/2025 14:39

Loos on trains or coaches are horrific. My sister had a hilarious to me terrible experience about 25 years ago when she was a skint student and got the coach from Glasgow to London for £8. She went to the toilet in the middle of the night and the lock felt a bit dodgy so she was holding onto it the whole time she was going for a wee. The coach braked really suddenly and she flew out of the door with her drawers at her ankles. Luckily for her it was 3am and dark but she is absolutely certain that at least half a dozen people had an unexpected full moon that night. I nearly choked to death laughing at this when she told me, in a show of sibling support.

I was on a train recently and ended up sitting in the seats opposite the toilet because none others were free.
Chap comes along and pressed the open button and the door comes open to show a lady sitting on the toilet (skirt so not much showing). When she came out she had a go at him because she "couldn't lock the door because she was claustrophobic".
Poor chap, who was very embarrassed and apologetic didn't know where to put himself. Made him so flustered that he then forgot to lock it and the same happened to him.

It was very funny, and actually he did see the funny side when he'd come out.

SpecialPerson · 21/02/2025 14:46

I hate all the Australian programmes on TV - Why!? Not only is it depressing to watch as it looks lovely and hot over there and here in the UK the weather sucks but, its like every other channel it has various programmes but there all Australian, I have no idea why but it really annoys me.

Whodathoughtit2 · 21/02/2025 14:47

Dancing at weddings/parties. Hate hate hate it and amazed other people just do or, unbelievably, enjoy it

Differentstarts · 21/02/2025 14:48

Whenever I walk through an airport I always start panicking about whether i accidentally packed a bomb or drugs then I always look dodgy because I look overly nervous 🤣🤣.

Shufflebumnessie · 21/02/2025 14:50

Waiting in for things such as furniture delivery, and accepting said deliveries.
Had an Ikea delivery yesterday. I knew it was going to be a fair few boxes but had no idea if the delivery guys would take it all up to the bedroom or just deliver to the doorstep. It was really stressful waiting for them (fully appreciate that most people probably don't feel like that in this situation 😅).
When they arrived they really weren't happy about taking it all upstairs (but did). I had no idea what to do with myself whilst they went in & out to the van, so I just hovered in the hall (well out if their way) until they were done. Then breathed a sigh of relief as the van drove away!

BunnyLake · 21/02/2025 14:52

Differentstarts · 21/02/2025 14:48

Whenever I walk through an airport I always start panicking about whether i accidentally packed a bomb or drugs then I always look dodgy because I look overly nervous 🤣🤣.

Years’s ago I got stopped by security, questioned (thankfully not searched) had my passport taken away and left to just wait till they came back (I had arrived back in the UK from a bog standard Spanish holiday). Apparently they had confused me with someone else!!. I was really shaken up by the whole experience for a while 😭

imtheholidayarmadillo · 21/02/2025 14:53

Flumpster34 · 21/02/2025 14:34

Another one here who hates the awkwardness of haircuts.

I am rubbish at small talk so it peters out. Then I try to avoid eye contact and I can hear the other ladies having a nice old chinwag on either side of me whist I pretend to sip my tea and be engrossed in a magazine.

I always worry my hairdresser feels resentful that she's got an unfriendly client so I compensate by being over enthusiastic about the actual haircut. I told the last one I would write them a glowing review. So cringey and awkward.

I've been like this most of my life, again mostly because I'm crap at small talk, but thankfully my current hairdresser is more like a friend and we just gab away, but silences are OK too and don't feel strained. Perfect.

I remember one occasion though, when she was ill and one of her staff filled in, a really lovely person but super chatty. She kept up a constant stream of conversation to the point where it was a strain due to my being so crap at small talk! I didn't want her to think I was unfriendly, so I kept my end of the conversation up, but left feeling a) like I must be an antisocial sod and b) mentally exhausted. 😄

I'm also crap at telling hairdressers I don't like my hair, thankfully that's not been an issue in years but I remember some terrible cuts in my teens when I was too easily talked into unsuitable styles, and me gushing to the hairdresser over how lovely it looked and then going home and wanting to cry. 😅

IfItWasUpToMeIWould · 21/02/2025 14:55

Being in a lift when it stops and a stranger gets in, I don’t know where to look, I don’t want to even acknowledge they are there incase they think I want a conversation. I also feel uneasy if it’s a man incase (in the unlikely event) he makes a move on me.

I also hate it when I’m at the theatre and the audience starts clapping in time to the beat of the music, it really grinds on me, let me just listen to the band FFS!

I’m also uncomfortable with the initial moment that guests arrive for dinner or a party, and also when we go to theirs, the unnecessary over the top compliments of “oooh you look fabulous” (hug kiss kiss) “gorgeous dress” (hug kiss kiss) “love the hair” (more hugs kiss kiss) “great shoes” (kiss kiss) “Oh chocolates, thank you, my absolute favourite” … the endless unnecessary compliments about things, some of which don’t need a compliment, I feel really embarrassed and I just want to them to stop.

Shufflebumnessie · 21/02/2025 14:56

Differentstarts · 21/02/2025 14:48

Whenever I walk through an airport I always start panicking about whether i accidentally packed a bomb or drugs then I always look dodgy because I look overly nervous 🤣🤣.

I used to work in an airport and at the end of each shift I had to walk through the Customs channels to exit the building. Even though I knew most of the officers, was in my uniform and hadn't actually travelled anywhere I was still convinced that I'd suddenly magically conjured up a kilo of cocain in my handbag 😅 When the sniffer dogs were on duty it was even worse!!!

onwardsup4 · 21/02/2025 14:57

Also had my Facebook birthday hidden when I had a Facebook.
I hate bumping into people on the supermarket I don't mind if it's someone close or someone can say a quick hello but the in between where you have to stop to speak but always feels awkward then you end up seeing them again and again in the shop. So silly but I hate it