Anyone else fixate on avoiding people when anxious?

[Mindfullness]

I have generalised anxiety disorder and have struggled with anxiety for years. I somehow seem to fixate on people that I am not sure about (ie have been friendly then blank me )and then obsess constantly about what I will do if and when I see them. It totally consumes me and is so tiring. I always feel like I am doing the wrong thing, so much so that I have isolated myself and only socialise with my family as they make me feel safe! Anyone else feel like this? Thank you x

Yes!

How do you cope with it Calabria?

Me too. Awful, lonely, isolating and difficult to break the cycle.

I avoid all the time.
My social life is limited, I have a very small group of "safe" people.

I do not have a diagnosed anxiety disorder as I have never sought help. I know I am "odd" though.

Jimijack - I think for me getting the diagnosis was such a relief as I kept being told I was severely depressed but I knew I wasn't. I was diagnosed eventually when having cbt as he could see that although my mood was low it was as a result of being anxious all the time!
I don't think having a mental health difficulty means you are odd though. It's not something you can help or control.

I know the feeling. I try to avoid any kind of confrontation when I'm extremely anxious, so most of my stress comes from my dog who can be a little temperamental with other dogs. I find it peaks when I'm due on, and almost disappears during my period. Still my GP says MH is not linked to hormone balances

"Odd" as in not like anyone I know. I feel odd personally. I am not suggesting for one moment that people with mh conditions are odd.

See now I'm going to agoniser this now. What I should have said, what I will say if you reply, why did I post. Gahh.
Sorry.

God yes you've described me! I isolate myself from people - I have only one close friend that I can tolerate (she is very similar to me). The school run is hard as I think people are avoiding me/talking about me etc when in reality I'm sure they aren't! My anxiety is spreading into other aspects of my life - I can no longer board a plane, I find crowds suffocating. I've never seem my gp as I don't want any form of medication but I do think cbt would be helpful.

Yes, I avoid everything. I avoid fb messages, I avoid emails, I don't open texts on my phone.

jimijack I'm odd too, I've always known that and wished to be 'normal'.

It's a recognised fact that people frequently do this. Not quite the same but I avoided people when I had post natal depression. Hope you all start to feel better.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.

I don't really deal with it, because I don't have to. I'm not working so I don't have to interact with many people. The school run is ok because most people are in a hurry in the morning and in the afternoon there are a couple of grandparents doing pick up that I chat with. Many parents seem to be focussed on their phones or friends so I don't feel obliged to talk.

Also I smile and say hi but don't stop when I see people I know that I don't want to talk to.

I've not really thought about this at all until now. I'm pretty lucky that can live with it and it isn't (so far) a problem.

jj - sorry now I feel bad I just wanted to make you feel better :-) Sorry for confusion. I do find keeping busy does help distract me from my thoughts.

I do this. My DF rings me a lot and I literally CANT speak to him some days, just can't deal with it, there are issues but they aren't that bad, I just can't cope with him at times.

Also, if I don't hear from someone for a while, I think they hate me for some reason, so I get scared if I know I'm going to see them soon.

Isn't it odd that we all know this is silly and most probably totally inaccurate but we still 'believe' it?