#social-anxiety

#social-anxiety

Walking into a room you've never been in before can be one of the most nerve-racking experiences one can go through. Without prior knowledge of who's in there, what those people are like, and where the best place to sit is, it can be a serious anxiety trigger for the socially awkward among us. But what if there was someone who could mediate those anxieties on behalf of the people who have them?

My vision is fuzzy, my heart is racing and my lungs are emptying of oxygen. I've just been asked to speak in a meeting at my first graduate job on a fashion magazine. My task is simple read out the week's social media stats but I can't make it through. I cut the presentation short. I sit down, murmuring an apology, my eyes stinging with tears.

I described the sinking dread after social effort, the sense of being too visible. At astonishing speed, the AI responded gently, intelligently, without platitudes.

Groups can feel overwhelming due to the complexity of managing multiple people's emotions and interactions, requiring significant emotional and mental effort from individuals.

Effective therapy fosters rapid, positive change and enhances life satisfaction. Individuals may require encouragement to transition away from ongoing support to trust in their new abilities.

"Narcissism's two faces of vulnerability and grandiosity are seen as distinct, even though both share the quality of a need for validation and admiration."

I've embarked on a five-year mission to become more outgoing, figuring out which situations I could be comfortable in, and setting myself exercises in social etiquette.