What makes you anxious?

Hello there everyone!

I don't usually post new threads unless I feel it is necessary, but tonight I feel a little curious and thought I ask a question I've actually asked myself several times.
We've all been through a state of anxiety sometime during our lives and sometimes we don't know what makes us anxious until the event passes or we begin to feel anxiety without even knowing it. Some people don't even get nervous because they hold bravery, courage, confidence, etc. as a trait.
But what makes as anxious? Could it be asking out someone you had a crush on? Public speaking? Telling your parents about a class you're failing? There is no right or wrong answers here, simply it is just a question asking what sort of events provokes anxiety to yourself or what prevents you from getting anxious.

I'll start with answering my own question by saying public speaking and generally being around a huge group in public makes me anxious. I'd begin to stammer and forget what I'd say and often a huge group of strangers around me begins to drain my energy. Whenever my English classes have seminars, I'd never talk because of this problem, and I'd stay quiet even though I want to give my thoughts about the certain topic.

I'm normally a very shy person and it'd be interesting to hear some stories about anxiety. Of course, there is no need to get personal about this, just state what has made you anxious in your life, and if you want even talk about how you've overcome it.

(Also, because I don't usually post new threads.. I'm wondering if this is the right place to post it. Correct me if this is the wrong place to post this. Thanks!)

This thread seems interesting, so I'll begin by sharing I guess

Typically as I was younger I'd be more prone to anxiety. That was mainly due to me being shy, just like you Hinote, I would find it hard to speak in front of large crowds of people, in class, etc. I was, and still am, mainly, a very calm type of guy, but even so I still had problems like these. I found that as time went on I just got so used to things to a point where it just became comfortable to talk in front of large groups and things like that. For me, anxiety came from a fear of talking and thinking that people would judge me negatively for the opinions or thoughts that I offered. That's not much of a problem for me anymore though. Though it may happen rarely to me every now and then. For example, I'm in an English class where I'm the only boy(yea it can happen). Every now and then the teacher will ask the class a question and while I would like to say some very deep, resounding, and meaningful answer, I'd get kind of nervous and just stay quiet. Guess it's also the kinds of people I'm around that controls my anxiety.

There are other situations that make me really nervous. Asking a girl I like very much for example. Just thinking about that makes me pretty nervous, haha. Sometimes I'll get anxious randomly from time to time, for no particular reason.

Anxiety is not particularly bad, even though it may prohibit people from doing certain things that they may want to do. Sometimes it saves you from doing something you just don't want to do. As for me, it's not too much of a big problem. I've learned to live with it.

I'm a pack- no, a carton of nerves, and have been since I can remember. The worst is in situations where people have to judge me. Job interviews are the absolute pits. I guess I cope by over-preparing but it still sucks.

I also dislike sudden surprises. Real fun, right? I can read the most disturbing creepypastas without batting a eye, but jump scares make me go to pieces.

I was pretty shy growing up too. I'd do better in small groups than large ones. But, oddly enough I've never had problems with public speaking, doing skits in front of the class, etc. I guess it's because of a couple things. First, memorization comes really easily to me. Second, at least for skits, you don't usually act out yourself. You're just acting, and for me it's easier to do that than open up and be myself.

To counter what I just said, even though I wasn't nervous, at the same time I was. I didn't feel nervous mentally, but there was absolutely no doubt that the anxiety was there. For example, during speeches, at times, my neck would feel completely stiff. If I tried to turn my head, I am 100% positive my neck would twitch. And it would - so I wouldn't do it, or instead I'd look down for a second and let the feeling pass.

I would get this kind of fear and tension with piano performances too, except combined with shaky hands. And this made it literally impossible for me to play. I couldn't play what I wanted to, despite having more than enough technical skill. In the practice room, some pieces were easy as pie, but in front of people my fingers literally wouldn't move. I was always nervous with piano performances as a kid, but none of the physical tension or shaking was there until around freshman year of high school. Recently though, I've re-learned how to play more naturally in front of people without that fear, and it's great to be able to play how I want.

I wasn't really shy growing up honestly, I was less anxious about tests, but crunch week in schools. Ay.. where do I begin, well first of all, they cram so much stuff in to your head, you get more and more anxious over as a major test/exam comes along, and when it's there, the anxiety almost reaches my breaking point. Anxiety makes me gulp a lot and sometimes makes my fingers twitch.

It's not as bad as before, of course, but there are certain moments, where you can't help it.

I'll be honest, I was kinda shy growing up. I was afraid to get up in front of the class and speak, for example. Nowadays it's not really a problem for me, but sometimes I still get that feeling like what if I say something bad or something wrong, ya know... Stuff like that. You could say that public speaking ain't one of my best skills.

Hmm, tricky to detail everything I get anxious about, since I worry about plenty of things...

...though if there's anything in particular I could mention, the fear of getting something wrong alone makes me anxious at times. Even if it's just a minor one. I may worry that they might taint my rep, or that some horrid person is going to call me out on them to make me look stupid.

Particularly in school many many years ago those consequences seemed very likely indeed. Though where I am now pretty much everyone in my school year is respectable and usually friendly, so it hardly seems as bad anymore.

I also remember a few times when I first joined the SRB2 community (nearly 5 years ago now) where a certain few members weren't that friendly to me at all, both here on the MB and in srb2fun. One ancient example comes to my head straight away: "Does Anyone Ever Break In Their Headphones?" (still not completely sure what was meant by that, but at this point I don't care anymore).

I have been told this is an illogical fear though, yet it doesn't cease to persist every so often.

Most fears are exaggerated or illogical, anyways.

I have a ridiculously weird fear, and have had it for a while, of getting out of car or so, late at night, walking up to my back door, and glancing over my shoulder to see in the shadows of my foresty backyard, someone running at me at full tilt with a knife. And of course, the door is a pain in the neck to unlock, so my only real option is to run, or to turn and face him (which seems like a bad idea). Or even if I do get inside, and we call the cops, he's disappeared, and is nowhere to be seen. Then, I could never go outside without wondering if it was going to happen again. Of course, if that happened, I would make sure to always go outside well ready for a battle, but still, it'd be really scary.

Besides a few other things like that, I've never had any real phobias or anxiety problems. I mean, I quite honestly hate making phone calls, and I often have to work up the courage to make any difficult ones. Though really, it's just one of those "do hard things" situations. I may not be comfortable doing it, but to hell with comfort, I'm gonna do it anyways.

Along those same lines, just recently I started taking a Scottish Country Dancing class, after being nagged by a few people to do it. Even if I'm not clumsy, I've never been the most nimble person on my feet, so it took some working up the nerve to actually join. I'm glad I did though, it's a blast. Plus, a little dancing is never a bad skill to have.

Monster Iestyn said:

I also remember a few times when I first joined the SRB2 community (nearly 5 years ago now) where a certain few members weren't that friendly to me at all, both here on the MB and in srb2fun. One ancient example comes to my head straight away: "Does Anyone Ever Break In Their Headphones?" (still not completely sure what was meant by that, but at this point I don't care anymore).

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I have no idea what they mean either.

I have anti-stage fright so; I only get anxious when there's a small crowd, weird right?

:D

In my current situation, my brain (or, more like my heart or my mind for this case) is lost into a crazy field of doubts, questions and anxiety, both when I'm with other people (so in society), and alone on my dear computer. Or in my closet or my bathroom, it works too...
I used and I still use to think that nobody/rarely people think so deeply, and of the same things as me. I always wanted to talk with someone, to share our deepest pyschological thoughts, but since it's... another person out of myself, I never have all my confidence to talk about that. So I talk with myself.

I won't search for a long time about my own anxiety, since I feel it at every second of my life. Sometimes, it grows bigger, sometimes it gets minus (when I'm deeply concentrated on a test, for instance), but it nevers completly get out of me. My french teacher (read that as english teacher, for the english ones of you) said we wear a mask in society. He was so right to me. My history teacher then learnt me that the school was also the school of sociability.
Enormous quantities of, like, seeds of experience gets into my mind at every moment. I try to turn them into more understandable informations ; some of the stuff I successed to transcribe into language are like...
In a general way, my biggest anxiety is the presence of others... what I'm sure is that I could never act the same way when I'm alone and around others.
B-but I don't look that weird when I'm around, huh~ I also learnt to hide these doubts to others, to take care of my... "sociability".

Monster Iestyn said:

Though where I am now pretty much everyone in my school year is respectable and usually friendly, so it hardly seems as bad anymore.

I also remember a few times when I first joined the SRB2 community (nearly 5 years ago now) where a certain few members weren't that friendly to me at all, both here on the MB and in srb2fun.

I have been told this is an illogical fear though, yet it doesn't cease to persist every so often.

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The first two paragraphes look linked. I know you know a lot more since these years, but this time the only problem was from DarkWarrior ; I would have hardly understood what he was saying. And anyway, tolerating is also a part of politeness, instead of getting rude.
Otherwise, in my opinion, the only valuable sentence he may say should be "did you ever break your heartphones ?".

EDIT : Analepsis.

Monster Iestyn said:

(And yes, DarkWarrior = Rob)

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...uguu~

Worrying about feeling ill while at important events.

It's a bit of a vicious cycle really.

Actually, to clear up the issue of the breaking in the headphones issue...

The term "breaking in" refers to the act of wearing down something new to the point where it fits you comfortably. The most common example would refer to breaking in a mattress. You would get it new, from the store, but it would be freshly made, and a little stiff. But when you use it for a little while, you sort of "break it in", and it wears a little, to the point where it fits your shape better. With headphones, this would probably mean using the headphones a little, so that they loosen up, and the earpads grow more comfortable.

But then again, I don't know why DarkWarrior (Rob, right?) would be asking this.

Charybdizs said:

Actually, to clear up the issue of the breaking in the headphones issue...

The term "breaking in" refers to the act of wearing down something new to the point where it fits you comfortably. The most common example would refer to breaking in a mattress. You would get it new, from the store, but it would be freshly made, and a little stiff. But when you use it for a little while, you sort of "break it in", and it wears a little, to the point where it fits your shape better. With headphones, this would probably mean using the headphones a little, so that they loosen up, and the earpads grow more comfortable.

But then again, I don't know why DarkWarrior (Rob, right?) would be asking this.

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That's what I was thinking it might mean, but I've never heard it used for headphones before, nor have I ever had a pair that required breaking in...

Charybdizs said:

But then again, I don't know why DarkWarrior (Rob, right?) would be asking this.

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Uh, Penopat was the one asking the original question. =S (And yes, DarkWarrior = Rob)

I used to have anxiety problems about speaking in front of large groups of people, with some general social anxieties as well. But since attending university and running one of the student societies there I have since grown out of those, thank goodness! I can sympathise with people having the same issues though, but I know through experience that it's possible to work through some anxieties with enough patience and effort.

Instead, I have anxieties over cramped spaces full of people which I can't particularly rationalise. Not for fear of having anything stolen from me in the crowd, because I rarely carry anything valuable, or any other logical reason really, but being in a large crowd makes my skin crawl. So a small kitchen full of students, or London's train stations during rush hour, tend to result in me escaping as soon as possible.

Also I have a few anxieties about living up to the standard of my family after leaving university. Both my brother and father are very successful at what they do and it has set a high bar for me to achieve, which I seriously doubt I can reach despite the rest of my family automatically assuming I can and becoming more than a little disappointed every time I don't quite meet that standard.

Ultimate said:

That's what I was thinking it might mean, but I've never heard it used for headphones before, nor have I ever had a pair that required breaking in...

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Just to clear it up, breaking-in headphones means playing loud noise or music through them. The audio-obsessed think it improves their ability to reproduce sound.

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I've always been anxious, as far back as I can remember, mostly in social situations or when doing things I'm not used to. Lately I developed a rare neurological disorder called HPPD. The nature of it means that it's easy to get anxious about the visual distortions it produces, and it also can (depending how lucky you are, in my case, yes it does) produce a sense of you not being real, or the world not being real, which aggravates my pre-existing anxiety.

Anxiety's a pretty poorly dealt-with problem in today's world. From an evolutionary viewpoint, it has it's place, but it stands in opposition to today's world. Unfortunately because of the stigma against mental health, it's not often taken care of adequately.

I've don't usually get anxious nowadays, but this always gets to me. I have ADHD, so I am used to always having at least one thing going on. But when nothing has happened for such a long time, in a game or not, I kind of get a little skittish. So whenever anything happens to break the long line of nothing, I get so relieved and get right to it (even if I'm playing a horror game/watching a horror movie, I just don't get as scared as I should be).
One time, I was in class and we just finished a test. Usually, everyone talks when the teacher is grading tests, but no one did anything. Then when she left the room to get something from another teacher's room, it was just as silent...I did not like that day.