• TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | Eligiu | deficiT

Mental Health 20 (21) socially awkward

cyberius

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Mar 11, 2013
Messages
1,571
I grew up pretty isolated as an only child, and I became moderately recluse in highschool. Consequently, my social skills aren't very mature to my age yet. I can handle, and I enjoy social situations at my new job but it gives me a lot of anxiety to talk to new people sometimes. I often panic because I feel like I'm really behind everyone else. Is it that far off the norm for a 20 year old to be a little awkward? (Strangely, I'm very good with women though) It feels like everything is passing me by and I'm super behind everyone else!

I think this is one of the larger catalysts to my addictive tendancies
 
It is very normal to still be comparing yourself to others as a young adult, but it is also the source of a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering. Also being a listener is a very overlooked skill (extroverts get a lot of attention) but it is appreciated by everyone. Try your hardest to break the habit of comparisons--whether it is about looks, social skills, academic skills, financial wealth etc. About the only place it is useful to compare oneself I have found is in the area of kindness. When you meet a really nonjudgmental person, a very kind person that puts others at ease, ask yourself then, "How do I compare to this person? Could I be more compassionate towards others?" That is a comparison that might do you good whereas all the others only serve to undermine confidence and add to the same feelings of anxiety of those around you.<3
 
It's not far off the norm at all. Loads of 20 year olds are awkward as hell, most of them far more than they realise, and plenty of them I would not consider to be adults in terms of their mental development. People mature at very different rates in different areas also, so try not to worry about it! Seeing yourself as "awkward", although I do understand what you mean, is also not really psychologically helpful. Try to get away from worring about what other people might be thinking of you - you can't read minds, and most people are far more wrapped up in their own issues to really care about the things that you might assume they would notice or perceive as "awkward".

Just do your thing, socialise often, don't worry about what other people think of you and know that again you're not far off the norm at all and in fact probably have a lot more self-awareness than a whole bunch of other 20 year olds who are running around thinking that they're ready to take on the world and blissfully unaware of how much more learning about themselves and the world around them they have to do. Apart from this I would suggest researching tools to manage your slight social anxiety - anxiety can itself become a barrier to your self-development if you allow it to affect your behaviour, and it will unavoidably affect your ability to think clearly in some situations. There is a lot of information out there though, and if you can break down the anxiety into physical and mental symptoms (increased heart rate and breathing, "what if everyone is judging me?" type thoughts) and then address these individually (with, say, breathing exercises, and methods to challenge your negative thoughts as they arise) then you will become not only more socially confident in a realm where you were never really in a ny physical danger, but also far more able to manage any truly frightening or difficult situation in your life ahead.
 
5htp worked great for me the first month. You can not take it with anti depressants because it will raise serotonin to deadly levels. You should try it.
 
Top