Does anyone else have social anxiety at the same time as loving being around people?

[SparkleOwl65]

I feel like I'm a bit weird in this sense. I have awful social anxiety but equally crave being out and about in groups of people, even when it makes me incredibly anxious. I'm super social, but inside my insides are eating themselves. It's like I love it and hate it at the same time. Constantly popping propranolol before meeting new people. More of an AIB weird than an AIBU!

Yes. Thrive on interaction but get so anxious I feel sick before going somewhere to meet people or go to an event.

Yeah! I’m going through a really busy social spell lately, which I am happy about and have wanted for years. Doesn’t stop me worrying beforehand and worrying afterwards and overanalysing everything I said though. But I’m treating it like exposure therapy and am pleased that I am getting more natural and less awkward and am chatting more. I am naturally much more of a listener than a talker, and I know I am a good listener - I remember everything anyone tells me. But am getting better at chatting. I freak out during lulls though and just start talking until some sentence forms 😄

I’m quite similar! I like to be able to have a glass of wine or two at events where there are new or semi new people. Takes the edge off! I do overthink things I’ve said a lot afterwards too but I just have accepted it’s something I do. I try and think of three topics of conversation before I go meeting people, and make sure I can say something coherent about them. I also am a complimenter - I always try and be really positive and say nice things to people, not in a fake way but genuinely if they have a beautiful feature in their house, the wine is great, the restaurant was a good choice, they have a really cute baby etc, I will tell them ! It sparks up conversation also.

Yep. Being an extrovert (being energised by social situations) does not automatically make you confident, despite what many people on Mumsnet think. I am very much a shy extrovert.

Yes totally. I hate the very loud misconception that introverts are antisocial recluses. It just means you get your energy from being alone rather than being with others. I NEED alone time. I still like people!

@MassiveSalad22 Exactly!

The most confident person I know is my introverted best friend. She's fantastic in social situations but needs plenty of alone time to recharge after

For me, big social situations are as life giving as water but I can still get very anxious about them.

I think we work because we take the time to understand each other rather than making ridiculous assumptions based on labels.