- Driving: I hate to drive, mostly because I am an paranoid, anxiety-riddled mess that constantly interprets things around me as dangerous. Driving is the riskiest thing that I do on a semi-frequent basis. Whenever possible, I make my friends/ family/ boyfriend drive me around so I feel safer but when I do drive I have terrible road rage and break out into a fear-induced sweat.
- Family Reunions: Hell is a place where family reunions occur often. There you will find relatives you've never met who will ask you all sorts of inappropriate or divisive things, including but not limited to the following: How much do you weigh? Who did you vote for in the last election? Have you been constipated recently? Why is your sister single still? Why aren't you having children? I don't know third cousin twice removed, I just don't know.
- Other Family-Related Events: Believe me when I say that I love my family dearly, however, I dread our annual Christmas visits with my extended family. Last year, I took a Xanax prior to the evening we were supposed to meet and ended up having no memory of it afterward, only bits and pieces of embarrassing conversations and cringeworthy moments.
- Calling to Make Appointments: This one is just silly, but I as an adult still have a deep fear of calling to make appointments. I hate dealing with receptionists, especially when I have a script memorized in my head of what I'm going to say and they surprise me with other questions and I end up getting flustered and befuddled. One of my favorite things is being able to make an appointment online. It does wonders for my anxiety.
- Going To Restaurants: It took a pandemic to make me realize how much I hate going out to eat. As a foodie, it should be one of my favorite things to do, and yet, I can't stand it. There's so much work involved: picking out an outfit (and making sure it's appropriate for the venue), making reservations, finding a parking spot, and navigating through crowds. I also hate interacting with wait staff because of my terrible social anxiety and my inability to function with stuttering or stumbling over my words.
- Plane Rides/ Airports: This has nothing to do with a fear of flying. I am not scared of flying in the slightest. What does bother me is being crammed into a plane with a bunch of awful, moody, inconsiderate people who will kick your seat, try to move your stuff, elbow you, sneeze on you, put their crying baby in your lap, and other equally atrocious things. Airports are stressful too in that they are crowded and you often have to run to your gate while simultaneously having to pee really bad.
- Meetings/ Classes for Work: This is something that almost causes me to vomit from panic. During meetings/ classes at work, they always have a segment in the beginning where you are supposed to introduce yourself. I hate this part. I am so embarrassed to speak and I end up writing down what I want to say so that I don't go blank when it's my turn. I also hate getting called on. Lately, I've been pretending to have technical issues to get out of answering, but when we go back to work I am completely doomed.
apr 25 2021 ∞
jul 31 2022 +