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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To worry desperately that I’m boring

19 replies

chipsjj · 23/09/2022 13:30

I have low self esteem and have disliked myself intensely since I was a young child. A big factor in this is that I’m very shy (I have social anxiety) and feel I have nothing to say for myself. When meeting friends or new people I struggle to think of what to talk about. I went out with a friend last night who got talking randomly to the woman on the next table and they seemed to get on like a house on fire and had a right laugh. I can’t stop wondering if she chatted to the other woman because I’m so very dull.

I also went out for dinner with a friend for her birthday and the other women there were all so chatty and having such a giggle, while I just sat there not really contributing much and feeling awkward. This was almost a year ago and I haven’t heard from my friend since.

OP posts:
AlwaysTheBrideNeverTheBridesmaid · 23/09/2022 13:40

May I ask what steps you’ve taken to work on your self esteem and social anxiety? Happy to provide resources if you’re looking to improve this problem. It sounds like part of your self esteem: a belief that you’re boring. Or equally you could come across as boring/cold to others if you lack the confidence to engage in a conversation or ‘let go’ enough to have a laugh.

chipsjj · 23/09/2022 13:44

I’ve recently finished a course of CBT and it did help a little, but nowhere near enough. I’m also on sertraline (100mg)

OP posts:
chipsjj · 23/09/2022 13:45

I would love to look at any resources you think might help, thank you.

OP posts:
Teenyliving · 23/09/2022 13:46

Did you show any interest in the other people?

I had a friend who had very bad social anxiety. But what I worked out was that she only ever thought about her own anxiety and never thought about other people. I was sympathetic to her for a long the but finally gave up as it was exhausting to constantly be aware of her and her anxiety when I also had my own stuff on.

try and not think about yourself and think about others

Iamthewombat · 23/09/2022 13:47

Socially anxious does not equal boring. Give yourself a break. Do your friends know that you are not at ease socially? Like the friend you went out with last night, for example. If she knows that you struggle a bit she might have been trying to take the pressure off you by chatting to the woman at the next table.

If your friends don’t know that you are socially anxious, tell them! Because then, if they are good friends, they can tailor the conversation accordingly. I have a shy friend, and when we are in company I make an effort to bring her in, or will introduce topics by saying, “X did [insert name of activity] this week, have any of you tried it?”

The friend whose birthday dinner you were at last year might have all sorts of reasons for not having been in contact. It’s probably not an issue caused by you.

If you struggle for things to talk about, I’d suggest planning in advance. Daft things in the news, and so on. Then you can ask other people’s opinion on the story and have a bit of a laugh to break the ice.

Good luck. I really doubt that you are boring. You just need more confidence, and you’ll gain that from being out there.

chipsjj · 23/09/2022 13:48

Yes, I ask other people lots of questions (mainly as a way to talk as little as possible about myself). The issue I think is that when it does come to talking about myself, I have nothing interesting or funny to say.

OP posts:
cushioncovers · 23/09/2022 13:51

Do you read or watch tv? Can you chat about tv shows or books that you've read. Documentary's, comedies can be good topics to get conversations going. We've had a chat today work about the new Dahmer show on Netflix. It doesn't have to be highbrow conversations.

Teenyliving · 23/09/2022 13:51

Oh well then honestly just be yourself don’t try and come up with funny stories etc.

people can try too hard and it can be exhausting

i wonder if your issues are more about your attachment style. Maybe do some reading about trauma and attachment styles

it sounds like it’s less about being entertaining and more about learning to relate to people differently adter having a traumatic childhood

lannistunut · 23/09/2022 13:53

chipsjj · 23/09/2022 13:48

Yes, I ask other people lots of questions (mainly as a way to talk as little as possible about myself). The issue I think is that when it does come to talking about myself, I have nothing interesting or funny to say.

Read Quiet Girl in a Noisy World, there is nothing wrong with being quiet.

lannistunut · 23/09/2022 13:54

Oh - and also Quiet by Susan Cain.

Choconut · 23/09/2022 13:59

Shyness, feeling like you don't fit in, anxiety and low self esteem could be indicators of ASD. It may not fit at all but I don't know if it could be something to consider.

Teenyliving · 23/09/2022 14:21

i agree to be clear that absolutely nothing wrong with being quiet. At all.

Divebar2021 · 23/09/2022 14:25

What are you interested in? I’m interested in reading and literature which is itself quite insular but can take you off on a million topics not least the fact Hilary Mantel has just died. You can have a conversation without actually talking about yourself at all.

Sprig1 · 23/09/2022 14:26

I have an opposite view. Many of these people who chat to anyone/have millions friends are often putting on a front/not really themselves/it is all v superficial. Hopefully as time goes on you will find 1 or 2 good friends who like you for who you are. Don't pretend to be someone else. Are there any activities you could join/any volunteering you could do. I find it much easier to make friends I this way as yare already doing something something so the chat is incidental, not the main event.

Treemouser · 23/09/2022 14:29

Choconut · 23/09/2022 13:59

Shyness, feeling like you don't fit in, anxiety and low self esteem could be indicators of ASD. It may not fit at all but I don't know if it could be something to consider.

Don't be daft. The experience described by OP is unfortunately very common across all types of people, both NT and ND, it can't be classed as an 'indicator'.

OP you've had some good advice here, thanks for starting the thread, I have the same problem and will steal some of the advice for myself.

Divebar2021 · 23/09/2022 15:21

Many of these people who chat to anyone/have millions friends are often putting on a front/not really themselves/it is all v superficial

The OP isn’t talking about not having friends …. She mentions them… she’s talking about not knowing how to contribute to a conversation and is doubting that she has anything worth saying. I find threads of this type tend to end with some posters slagging off extroverts as fake or over the top which is an unfair criticism. I am neither extroverted nor introverted ( nor shy if we consider that different) but I’m fairly empathetic and able to steer conversations where necessary - although it’s tiring to do all the heavy lifting in a one sided conversation. Everyone has interests …. If I wrote down all mine and everyone wrote down all theirs I bet i could find something to chat about from everyone’s list even if I had no personal experience. A lot of the time it’s a case of throwing out an open question and letting the other person go. It’s ok for conversations to bounce around and be a bit superficial …all of a sudden you’ll find a subject you’re all engaged in and it goes a bit deeper and doesn’t seem like hard work. I imagine this week people are still discussing the funeral …. Tons of mileage in that one whatever your views on the Royal Family.

newsaint · 23/09/2022 15:35

I completely relate to your post OP and had the exact same issues in the past.

The key is to first of all accept and respect yourself. Love yourself. I am sure you are a genuinely lovely person but are convincing yourself otherwise and have been for a long time. I was the exact same.

Think about it - if you yourself insist that you are boring, its hardly likely anyone else would find you exciting.

But you are not boring - you are putting yourself down. Stop it! You deserve better!

Dont listen to your own unwitting negativity - rather, try to take an objective reality based view. For example, you say you are boring and a wallflower. Yet, in your first post - you mention two friends and two social events. So, clearly, you are a likeable person whom people desire to befriend and spend time with. Your bad impression of yourself is demonstrably wrong.

That is the reality. Accept the reality. Do not let negative thought patterns convince you otherwise. Accept the reality. Its important to be aware of and recognise bad thoughts which paint a negative picture, which isnt based in reality. When you recognise them - say NO! Discard them and replace with positive thoughts. It can be hard to do, but do it you must.

Dont put pressure on yourself, in social situations. In any environment, feeling under pressure can make our minds go blank and we struggle. Try to relax.

Making small talk is actually quite easy, if you relax, give yourself space to do it - whats your name, where you from, what do you do for a living, what about that xyz on the news, have you seen that new film, tried that new restaurant, blah blah

These little throwaway topics help us ease into peoples company and to relax, leading to friendships or deeper topics etc.

Dont obsess about feeling shy or being anxious. There is nothing wrong being shy. Often obsessing about it is actually the cause of it in the first place. Just be you. You are wonderful.

Dont compare yourself with others. Its important to note that YOU even with the shyness, anxiety etc, are every bit as valid a person as anyone else, including those who seem so popular, funny, social etc. Your experience of life is every bit as valid as anyone else's and is in no way inferior. Our lives and personalities are all different, but they all have equal worth. Learn to accept yours and do not feel inferior to, or even envious of, others. You are as good as anyone. Accept yourself - no one is perfect and we all have flaws - but accept yourself and your flaws.

Dont worry what others think of you. You do not need anyone's approval or validation. If someone doesnt appear keen or interested in you - so what? You dont need to spent time with them, or see them again. They obviously have poor taste. Approve of yourself - and that's enough. I spent so many years in extreme contortions about what others might have thought about me, or something I had done. For a long time now, I have not given a f*ck about what random people think. I highly recommend the latter approach, its hugely refreshing.

Fight to feel happy and at ease with yourself. It took me a long time to realise that happiness and confidence is not simply a product of our circumstances, but rather a choice. yes, a choice - to see the good in ourselves and to feel happy, even if our lives are not perfect. If you feel down, say no! - balls to feeling low, im going to be happy - even if I feel anxious, or if work is getting me down, or if I feel overwhelmed or had a bad day. Im going to be happy and I deserve to be happy.

Its genuinely about making a deliberate and positive choice of outlook for personalities such as ours. Its not always an easy choice, thats why I say you have to fight. Fight and be happy. No one else will do it for you. You deserve it and owe it to yourself. Do it!

If we feel happy and accepting of ourselves, we naturally radiate that out to others - but equally, if we put ourselves down and feel low - that negativity radiates out also. Naturally, those with a more positive glow about them tend to be more appealing to those seeking a chat or a date or whatever.

You have deeply ingrained a false negative impression of yourself into your mind - and no doubt reinforce it regularly with negative thoughts. And so its not a 5 minute fix to climb out of this. But you can do it - you will do it. Sure, you will have ups and downs, but you will do it.

I hope my rambling above might be of some minor help! The first step is to stop that negative reinforcement and to accept and love yourself. Then we are cooking with gas!

I am sorry for such a long post, but this is a topic important to me. I needlessly put myself through the mill for years with stuff like this. It completely ruined my teenage years -a very bleak time - and undermined my 20s. Whatever age you are, dont let it ruin your times - get that monkey off your back and enjoy life like you deserve.

Made a decision to change right now. Try to follow the points above, it gets easier and eventually seems natural. Because it IS natural. What isnt natural is always doing yourself down and making yourself feel worthless.

I learned all this from a decades long mental war of attrition (victorious!) and so believe me its better just to accept advice than go through that.

As a positive step, why not join an evening class - like learn a language, or something you have always wanted to do. it will get you out, meeting new people and help building your confidence. There is a ready made topic to engage with others on (whatever the class is about). It will make you interesting to others and create another small talk topic you can fall back on. Do it!

Life is for living - enjoy!

Calandor · 23/09/2022 15:39

You can't be that boring or you wouldn't have friends to go to the pub with and to parties with! Plus, being quiet or having anxiety doesn't make you boring it just means you're not extroverted.

I'm the loud type and it comes with its own anxiety (put my foot in it some times). And your friend wasn't bored of you she's just sociable and got chatting. No reflection on you I do it all the time. Especially after a few drinks.

If we were all the same... now that would be boring.

Cannotmakeadecison · 23/09/2022 16:29

newsaint · 23/09/2022 15:35

I completely relate to your post OP and had the exact same issues in the past.

The key is to first of all accept and respect yourself. Love yourself. I am sure you are a genuinely lovely person but are convincing yourself otherwise and have been for a long time. I was the exact same.

Think about it - if you yourself insist that you are boring, its hardly likely anyone else would find you exciting.

But you are not boring - you are putting yourself down. Stop it! You deserve better!

Dont listen to your own unwitting negativity - rather, try to take an objective reality based view. For example, you say you are boring and a wallflower. Yet, in your first post - you mention two friends and two social events. So, clearly, you are a likeable person whom people desire to befriend and spend time with. Your bad impression of yourself is demonstrably wrong.

That is the reality. Accept the reality. Do not let negative thought patterns convince you otherwise. Accept the reality. Its important to be aware of and recognise bad thoughts which paint a negative picture, which isnt based in reality. When you recognise them - say NO! Discard them and replace with positive thoughts. It can be hard to do, but do it you must.

Dont put pressure on yourself, in social situations. In any environment, feeling under pressure can make our minds go blank and we struggle. Try to relax.

Making small talk is actually quite easy, if you relax, give yourself space to do it - whats your name, where you from, what do you do for a living, what about that xyz on the news, have you seen that new film, tried that new restaurant, blah blah

These little throwaway topics help us ease into peoples company and to relax, leading to friendships or deeper topics etc.

Dont obsess about feeling shy or being anxious. There is nothing wrong being shy. Often obsessing about it is actually the cause of it in the first place. Just be you. You are wonderful.

Dont compare yourself with others. Its important to note that YOU even with the shyness, anxiety etc, are every bit as valid a person as anyone else, including those who seem so popular, funny, social etc. Your experience of life is every bit as valid as anyone else's and is in no way inferior. Our lives and personalities are all different, but they all have equal worth. Learn to accept yours and do not feel inferior to, or even envious of, others. You are as good as anyone. Accept yourself - no one is perfect and we all have flaws - but accept yourself and your flaws.

Dont worry what others think of you. You do not need anyone's approval or validation. If someone doesnt appear keen or interested in you - so what? You dont need to spent time with them, or see them again. They obviously have poor taste. Approve of yourself - and that's enough. I spent so many years in extreme contortions about what others might have thought about me, or something I had done. For a long time now, I have not given a f*ck about what random people think. I highly recommend the latter approach, its hugely refreshing.

Fight to feel happy and at ease with yourself. It took me a long time to realise that happiness and confidence is not simply a product of our circumstances, but rather a choice. yes, a choice - to see the good in ourselves and to feel happy, even if our lives are not perfect. If you feel down, say no! - balls to feeling low, im going to be happy - even if I feel anxious, or if work is getting me down, or if I feel overwhelmed or had a bad day. Im going to be happy and I deserve to be happy.

Its genuinely about making a deliberate and positive choice of outlook for personalities such as ours. Its not always an easy choice, thats why I say you have to fight. Fight and be happy. No one else will do it for you. You deserve it and owe it to yourself. Do it!

If we feel happy and accepting of ourselves, we naturally radiate that out to others - but equally, if we put ourselves down and feel low - that negativity radiates out also. Naturally, those with a more positive glow about them tend to be more appealing to those seeking a chat or a date or whatever.

You have deeply ingrained a false negative impression of yourself into your mind - and no doubt reinforce it regularly with negative thoughts. And so its not a 5 minute fix to climb out of this. But you can do it - you will do it. Sure, you will have ups and downs, but you will do it.

I hope my rambling above might be of some minor help! The first step is to stop that negative reinforcement and to accept and love yourself. Then we are cooking with gas!

I am sorry for such a long post, but this is a topic important to me. I needlessly put myself through the mill for years with stuff like this. It completely ruined my teenage years -a very bleak time - and undermined my 20s. Whatever age you are, dont let it ruin your times - get that monkey off your back and enjoy life like you deserve.

Made a decision to change right now. Try to follow the points above, it gets easier and eventually seems natural. Because it IS natural. What isnt natural is always doing yourself down and making yourself feel worthless.

I learned all this from a decades long mental war of attrition (victorious!) and so believe me its better just to accept advice than go through that.

As a positive step, why not join an evening class - like learn a language, or something you have always wanted to do. it will get you out, meeting new people and help building your confidence. There is a ready made topic to engage with others on (whatever the class is about). It will make you interesting to others and create another small talk topic you can fall back on. Do it!

Life is for living - enjoy!

This is lovely and similar to what I would want to write if I wasn’t chasing my one year old around at the same time! You are wonderful OP I have no doubt and I used to feel the same way. It really is just confidence and a little bit of “fake it till you make it”. Great suggestions on this thread but I can guarantee you are not boring you just need to confidence to be yourself and the rest will fall into place.

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