To duck out of going to the theatre?

[Notapantodame]

I have a single ticket for a show tonight, I bought it 7 months ago. But I suffer from quite profound anxiety. Sometimes I have an ok day, sometimes I wobble. Today I'm wobbling. I'm considering not going to see the show I've waited months for, simply because I'd rather be cocooned-up safely at home.. Last time I went I had a fantastic time. I'm sure I'll enjoy it once I'm there. Trouble is, I have to get myself there.. Do I go or not?

Go. You can get there and not stay or even leave at the interval but definitely try to go.

Go. You can’t live indefinitely in a cocoon. What is the show?

Can you decide nearer the time? If you fancy it then go if you don’t stay home sort of thing or do you need to leave soon to get there/let people know you won’t be seeing them there?

Go

Go

Did I mention you should go?

I want to say go, you'll have a brilliant time and feel so great for going.
But, I've been where you are and have stayed at home because I just couldn't go out.
There's no shame in staying at home, but do try.

Have felt like this, but avoiding things often doesn’t help anxiety.

Last time I went I had a fantastic time. I'm sure I'll enjoy it once I'm there

Rinse and repeat.
Rinse and repeat.

What show is it? Where is it?
(It won’t be ‘outing’ loads of people go to a show!)

Definitely try and go! You'll probably enjoy yourself once you're there and if you don't, just leave. I can relate, I have anxiety too but often end up going places alone, but what I do is buy two tickets and hope someone will come but no one ever does. You were brave enough to buy the single ticket, hold on to that!

Going will make you feel good about yourself.

Not going will make you feel crap about yourself.

Just GO

Go. You can cocoon tomorrow.

The hardest bit is leaving the house. I'll be ok once I'm there, I think.

Unfortunately if you don’t go you are teaching your brain that there IS something to be afraid of and it will reinforce the pathway in your brain.

Could you take it one step at a time? Like, go to a coffee shop near the theatre, then go inside, find your seat etc.

I can hear how anxious you are feeling but I think you should try and hopefully you will have an amazing time and then you can feel really proud of yourself.

Break it into little steps 1) I’ll go to the theatre front entrance door and see how I feel 2) I’ll nip to the loo inside and see how I feel 3) I’ll go and check out my seat and see how I feel 4) I’ll watch the first half etc Hopefully with all us MNers along in spirit with you you’ll have a good night xx. PS Remember to take your ticket with you!

Aim to leave the house and get in the car / walk to the bus stop / whatever. Nothing more than that. If once you've done that you decide to go a step further, great. If you want to turn round and go back indoors that's fine too. Just one little step.

GO. Refuse to be a slave to your anxiety. Your anxiety will not harm you and it will only continue to get worse if you cave into it. Face it head on, put one foot in front of the other, and tell your anxiety that you WILL NOT be held back anymore. You can do this!

Completely agree with RangeRider

You can turn around and go home at any point, you can leave mid show if you need to!!

But give it a shot.

Absolutely go!

There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. You’ll feel shit if you don’t go, pissed off at yourself and disappointed. Go, and use it as an example of things you can overcome.

It's all about leaving the house, once I do that I'll be on a home-run & ok. Well, probably from the time I'm at the bus stop.

Just keep getting ready, if needed do one step at a time so it's less overwhelming. I,e I'm going to shower now, then, I'm going to get dressed. Each step until you are there. You can do it.

Anxiety sufferer here. You e probably already gone but just in case, just break down what you need to do to get out the house. Take it step by step. You will feel so good if you do it and you can mark it in your head as a day of “look what I did despite having a wobble”.

If you don’t go you’ll probably feel more shit tomorrow. Altyif you haven’t gone, it’s not the end of the world. This was just something for you xxx

The minute you are out you'll be fine, it's the getting out.
I do it myself.
My next one is Feb 1st and I'm already terrified, even though I bought the ticket.

I hope you've gone, but incase you are wavering I find promising myself (and scheduling in) sofa/cocoon/stay at home time works to 'bribe' myself into going out of my comfort zone.
I.e. if I go to X event I will spend 3 hours next day guilt free relaxing as a reward.

Sounds nuts but works for me.

The thing is - this one thing doesn't actually matter. (Acknowledging the money potentially thrown away.) Anxiety does tend to blow everything up to the same level of importance.

I'm horribly guilty of excitedly booking events that, on the day, just don't appeal as much as staying home. I've got to the point of accepting that this is just part of the irregular rhythm of my life - not proof that I'm the worst person in the world.

I hope you've done whatever felt best in the moment. There'll be other shows if you don't go to this one. And if you've gone to this one you can still change your mind about the next one.

Did you go? What show was it?