"Can we have a quick chat?". This basically means "You're getting fired and humiliated, so go and panic," to someone anxious in the workplace. Never do so many people mentally prepare themselves for packing up their Post-Its, finding a new job, and all the drama that unfolds after being asked for a little meeting with the Top Dog.
4. Attending Someone's Wedding On Your Own
Weddings are supposed to be fun events - people you care about are getting married, there's free alcohol and cake... what's not to like? Well, for anxious people, going on your own is pretty terrifying. If you weren't able to score a date and you've somehow managed to rein in the impulse to call either the bride or groom to fake an illness, work emergency, or sudden move to Venezuela and actually attend, your heart rate is going through the roof at having to interact with and potentially making a fool of yourself in front of complete strangers as you're all usually forced to share a table at the back. An entire table of anxious people usually leads to zero conversation, red faces, and 12 people determinedly looking into their creme brûlées rather than at each other.
3. Taking A Shower When You're Home Alone
Virtually everyone takes showers. Most people have taken a shower in the house alone. Every time YOU step in when there's no one else in the house, however, you find yourself mentally re-enacting the Marion Crane scene from 'Psycho' or the opening of at least four 'Criminal Minds' episodes, and subsequently checking the shower curtain every thirty seconds for any sign of a blade, dress, or psychopath in sight. Is there a chance of a bath/shower buddy system?
2. Going To The Airport
Taking a trip abroad can be vaguely daunting at the best of times but going to the airport can be especially nerve-wracking for the anxious-minded amongst us. There's the irrational fear of being asked to step out of the lines so they can check your carry-on luggage (which gives you palpations in case they dare to ask about anything unusual but vital for you in your bag, like a cheesy romance novel), obsessing over remembering your passport, money and plane tickets to a horrible amount, and then spending the next five hours on edge in a hard plastic seat waiting for any indication that your plane is here, in the unlikely event that the plane will somehow arrive, load up with passengers, and depart by the time it takes you to use the bathroom and grab a coffee from Starbucks.
1. Replaying Every Dumb Thing You Say In A Conversation, For The Rest Of You Life
Last, but certainly not least, there's the horrific rewind button of the mind. You're at a party or at the water cooler at work and you pull out a conversation starter or a joke and it falls completely, utterly flat. Rest assured, every single stupid thing you say will be replayed throughout your mind at awkward moments and situations, such as in the middle of a workout when you're trying to get fit and feel good, or when you're trying to get to sleep. Telling the incidents go to away doesn't really help, so the best advice is to usually turn over and imagine how you'd end Game of Thrones if you were the showrunner, in vivid detail. It works well for us, anyway... What are the worst moments you have to deal with as an anxious person? Share your horrors in the comments below?
Last, but certainly not least, there's the horrific rewind button of the mind. You're at a party or at the water cooler at work and you pull out a conversation starter or a joke and it falls completely, utterly flat. Rest assured, every single stupid thing you say will be replayed throughout your mind at awkward moments and situations, such as in the middle of a workout when you're trying to get fit and feel good, or when you're trying to get to sleep. Telling the incidents go to away doesn't really help, so the best advice is to usually turn over and imagine how you'd end Game of Thrones if you were the showrunner, in vivid detail. It works well for us, anyway... What are the worst moments you have to deal with as an anxious person? Share your horrors in the comments below?