You are not alone!

You have friends and family who want you to succeed!

In my driveway of all places, how amazing.

I visited some friends this past weekend and I had an eye opening experience. Somehow we got on the subject of  fear and anxiety and I 'came clean' with what I am dealing with to some of my friends. Now, I say I 'came clean' about it because I really felt like I had this dirty little secret and that it is something shameful that I needed to hide.

Guess what? I was wrong.

A surprising number of people deal with either a generalized anxiety, phobia, or other more specific problems. In my small inner circle of friends I know two people who deal with different levels of Social Anxiety like I do. I know people who knew exactly what I was talking about when I told them about the "Bad Thoughts" I had had. This may sound sick but I was relieved to know I am not the only person out there dealing with this. It is liberating to know that I am not 'broken' or 'damaged' but that lots of people have at least experienced a period in their lives where they have dealt with problems like these.

My advice on this, for anyone struggling with this on your own, is to talk to somebody about it. I find that when I am feeling the yoke of anxiety resting on my shoulders especially heavily that I tend to crawl into a hidey-hole and I start avoiding contact with my friends. Well guess what peanut, those are the people you need to have a sit down with. 

When I let my friends know what is going on this is what changed for me. (Note: this is a dramatization that is representative of real conversations I have had)

Friend: "Nolan, come over and watch a movie with us, we're going to order pizza and it'll be fun."

Me: "Nah, that's okay. I am kind of tired, I think I'll just have a night in..." *lying because I am feeling morose*

Friend: "Are you in one of your moods again?"

Me: "No..." *Said sounding guilty*

Friend: "This isn't good for you, take a shower and get over here."

Me: "Okay..."

If your friends are aware of what you are going through and especially when they have been through something similar they can help be a support system for you. Remember, don't lean on them so hard that you can't get out of the house without a shove from a friend. But, when they put out a hand to help you up, take it. That's what friends are for, right?