Struggling with thoughts

[LizzieDizzie]

I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I constantly worry I’ve said something stupid to someone after talking with them, my anxiety seems to take over. It goes around my head until I drop asleep. My chest is tight and I’m sick of feeling such a clutz. I feel like people don’t like me either. Not everyone but some people. I can tell.
Whats wrong with me, what should,I do?

It’s very common to “replay” scenes in your head and every time you somehow make the cringey part worse.

I did a little bit of self-taught CBT to recognise those thoughts and set them aside. In the evening I find light entertainment - a gentle book or episode of something that won’t disturb me. I tell myself stories to go to sleep - it puts my mind in a calm place and stops me dwelling on my negative thoughts.

It is very hard to do - those thoughts can be very loud and upsetting. But I learned to make them quieter.

This has been a problem for me for all my life OP.

It used to be every social interaction I had got replayed in my head and I constantly felt I'd made a fool of myself.
To block these thoughts I used to use alcohol .

But then I did a course of CBT and that helped me to some extent .
The therapist helped me to see that actially most people are so wrapped up in their own problems, and thoughts and life that they aren't really bothering about what I said and did. It won't register with them or they will forget it as soon as it has happened.

And also I realised through the therapy that actually whose opinions really matter? Do I really care what a total stranger thinks of me? Or if I know the person do I like and respect them enough for their opinion to matter?

I also know that my problem is exacerbated because I have relatively few social interactions so that each one takes on a greater significance. So forcing myself to interact more lessens the significance of each encounter.

So you arent alone in this OP. And if you haven't had CBT that might be helpful to you.