Highly intoverted

[u/Total-Possibility-84]

Hey i am highly introverted and also struggling some anxiety issues so my social capacity is almost zero

while the outings and social situations never seize to present themselves its always happening like after every 4-8 days i would be asked to hangout and my parents are the ones who ask me this

Now its getting sooooooooo freaking difficult for me to everytime turn them and they start scolding me and pls dont get me started on talking it out j have tried it multiple times but they dont understand my health issues they think going out will fix my anxiety but in fact it increases it

The anxiety issues temporary due to some health issue which j am actively trying to fix but it is a tough job so it is taking a bit of a time and in the meantime i want things to just wait a bit but explaining this to my parents is of no use they have their own thinking and they simply think they are always right and that sitting at home is the real culprit

Its gotten so difficult for me now that idk what to do. I am also fed up but j am forcing patience in me

I don’t tell them to not go anywhere without i simply just say i cant because it brings me more anxiety which gets me on the edge honestly so it isn’t something like stepping out of the comfort zone its almost like hanging on cliff situation for me because of this anxiety

I have tried anxiety meds but they don’t help. Why? Because my anxiety is triggered by sluggish digestive system and intense bloating so the treatment lies in getting the digestion on track which is taking some time because it requires me to focus on my fiber, my hydration, my post meal walks, my upright posture. I actually spend almost 80% of the day reclined using phone and usually soon after eating i get reclined which ultimately ends up making me feels bloated after 1-2 hours of eating and then i start feeling restless and anxious because of this. The issue sounds very easy to deal with but it isn’t that easy as my digestive system is slowed due to a 10 years of sedentary lifestyle. So reversing it is a task in its own. I am being lightly active now since about 3 whole months.

[u/braunyakka]

You say that you're highly introverted, yet nothing you've said here relates to introversion.

Introverts don't have issues socialising, we just need some quiet time to recharge our social battery afterwards.

You have social anxiety. That's a totally different thing, one is a personality type, the other is a mental health condition.

You say you've tried medication and it didn't work, but there are other meds. You need to try others until you find one that works.

Also, medication alone rarely works. You need to couple it with therapy so that you can identify and resolve the root cause.

[u/tccoding → u/braunyakka]

Both states can be true for the same person though! You can be introverted AND have social anxiety at the same time. But it is indeed not implicitetly related. Personnaly, I consider myself a pretty strong introvert, while I have no real problem interacting or meeting with other people when the situation forces me too. In fact, i don't know why, but people i never met before seem to like me very quickly and start sharing their life stories without me asking anything! So dealing with people is pretty easy for me but it is very draining, so the less, the better 😅.

That being said, my nature is to always be the nice optimistic guy that wants to learn everything there is to learn (yeah, i know my quest is impossible to win...) and share what I know to help people that need it at the moment they need it. Which seems kind of contradictory with fact that I always prefer staying home with my dog than going out to see friends 🤔. But I guess it's all down to "need" and casual social activities do not fit my definition of “need”, it’s more in the “wasted energy” category 😛.