Very 'normal' things that make you feel awkward

[DancingDucks]

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 ...

Walking towards the same regular people that I see out and about walking my dog. Have chatted to them in the past but don’t want to stop and chat every time (and sure they don’t either!) however at what point do you acknowledge them without looking like a grinning idiot from 30 meters away 😬. I tend to handle it with my head slightly down until i get close enough to acknowledge verbally (so that they can hear me) whilst walking past - I always find it slightly awkward!!

Oh god and yes hairdressers, I'm ok for about half hour then anxiety kicks in and hate staring at myself for hours. No more blonde for me it's not worth it

Wow...most of the above it would seem for me!

Also cannot bear it when people break into song in my presence, especially if it's more than one person. Not something that regularly happens but when it has done it's made me feel massively uncomfortable!
Maybe that's more extreme cringe than awkward though.

Oh and this even if I'm on my own 😂

My mum used to say this. I had never heard of anything like it before, thank you for confirming it is actually a thing 😁

I love musicals, I see hundreds!

I hated it so much I've cut my own for 18 years now.

I was on the receiving end of this. Out with my friend and she bumped into an ex work colleague, they stood chatting for ages about old times whilst I just waited, and waited and… I didn’t know if to laugh at what might be an appropriate moment, or act like I couldn’t hear them. I felt like a spare part.

A woman shouted at me because I tried the door on a cubicle and her older teenage daughter was in there. I was so amazed I just stared at her. It your child can’t lock the door then just stand in front of the cubicle or you know open your mouth and say that one’s occupied.

I do have a fear of being locked in a public loo!
Especially if it's a dodgy lock or a bit stiff to open . It's never happened yet, but always a first time for everything

I have a bit of a horror of small talk. I'm on the spectrum and it seems so fake and pointless yet I understand social behaviour enough to know it's expected, play the game etc. But on my office days it can be the same convo with different colleagues over and over - how are you, it's cold isn't it, are you busy at the moment.. Does my head in.

I can cope with doing it a couple of times but I admit if I see someone else coming down the corridor I will try and hide if there's time. Mortifyingly I've been caught hiding a couple of times.

Love this thread!

Mine are:
Going into a shop wearing something I've bought from that shop. I don't know why it makes me feel uncomfortable

Overtaking an older person on the pavement, always worry it's somehow rude?

This has literally just happened to me! yes I'm on mn at work I said thank you and she looked a bit startled. I think I'll go back to ignoring. Cringe!

Taxis, calling them, getting into them, being alone with a stranger, working out when and how to pay them, calculating the tip, ugh, hate it.

The bit between ringing someone’s doorbell and waiting for them to answer, especially silent doorbells so you don’t know how long to wait before ringing again, or how long to wait before giving up and walking away.

How and when to leave a social event (resulting in my overstaying my welcome until I got braver about leaving)

Loads.

Kissing friends when you meet up or just general kiss on the cheek situations. I don't know how to do it. I'm so awkward. How do people know which side first

The small walk back to your spot, after you’ve had your turn bowling. I don’t know why it’s awkward , but it is.

Walking into one of those trendy, cool independent shops that are usually very quiet. I feel the pressure to make sure I look round every inch, slowly inspecting things I can’t afford, then it’s the cheery “thank you, bye” to the sole shop assistant/owner on my way out. I swear I can feel their eyes burning into the back of my head 🤣

And this is so much worse since the invention of ring doorbells. As you are being videoed whilst waiting

If I’m out with one friend and bump into another friend, I absolutely can not introduce them to each other because I “know” the minute I say their names, I’ll have got it wrong. I’ve stood before like a complete lemon, not introducing an old friend and colleague to my boyfriend because neither she nor he could possibly be called the names I have in my head 😬

I have more.
When I’m in the audience and the performer makes eye contact.
Waiter service when it’s particularly obsequious.
The phone. Everything about it, making calls, answering calls, how long the pleasantries need to go on till you get to the point of the call, working out who hangs up first and when.

"Curl up and dye" would be a good name for a (bad?) hairdresser.

I’m so glad this has been posted. I now know I’m not alone in my awkwardness.

I hate coming into work on a Monday, everyone does that “what did you do at the weekend?” thing.
Listen Nigel, I did fuck all at the weekend mate apart from lounge about in my pjs and drink my own body weight in Merlot, and tbh I’m not remotely interested in what you and the missus got up to. Let’s just skip the small talk and get on with work shall we…

I can always hear them thinking, 'We both know you can't afford anything in here, and you're not cool enough to buy it even if you could.'

DH has this. Unfortunately I think he conveys this fear to his face as he's said before that the scary looking security guard in Waitrose always seems to be hovering around the aisle that he's in when he's in there alone.

When I go with him, he doesn't get followed!

DH does WFH so is invariably in Waitrose in his trackie bottoms and trainers though, so probably does look a bit thief like!

Great thread - I don’t have to beat myself up so much now.

I never go into any ' posh ' shops as I feel like an imposter
Online buying is a god send isn't it