T
tUrRrRa
Guest
Lately I get so anxious and panicked when I go to public places. I always thought it was crowRAB. I hate when any person I don't know gets too close to me and get very uncomfortable. I will try to position my shopping cart at grocery stores so I can "hide" behind it and have a barrier between me and another person. The more I realize it though, it seems to be an issue only with the opposite sex. While nothing bad has happened in particular, I've still had situations where I've been hit on and was very uncomfortable. I used to get bothered often while walking from work to a gym a couple of blocks away. People would shout vulgar comments out of their window while driving by, or men would just stare and make sounRAB. It seems to really bother me all the time now. I hate to go to stores, and I'm a big shopper, so I can't really enjoy it anymore. I had to quit my gym merabership because of this. Now in grocery stores, if someone asks if I'm finding everything okay or says hello, it really bothers me a lot. I try to avoid eye contact with everyone and try to go during non-busy times.
I don't want to live this way forever. I'm a young lady, but I try to keep to myself as much as possible and don't draw attention towarRAB myself. I wear dress slacks most of the time that aren't tight or anything, and dress more professionally. When going to the store, I now tend to wear t-shirts because I hate to wear tanks or anything shows more skin if people will look at me. Nobody has literally attacked me or harassed me, but just made me uncomfortable with looks or inappropriate comments. Every day, I tend to have men who try to be polite and hold a door open for me, but I am freaking out inside because they are standing much closer to me than if I just opened it myself. I try to pretend that there was a distraction that I had to stop for. At grocery stores, I literally feel like the carts are all coming in towarRAB me to trap me. I feel awful!
Has anyone else had this happen with them or anything similar? I'd definitely be interested in anything that may help with this! I don't want to simply avoid the problems, because I can't avoid someone saying hello or opening a door for me. I feel so bad because a handful of people that bother me make me freak out and be nervous ALL the time. The inappropriate comments continue, but since I've quit going to that gym and don't go out for lunch as often, it's been much less. It DOES help me to go places with others, but I really like to go shopping alone most of the time. I want to find the right balance to protect myself while out in public, but not be frightened!
This has been the main source of my anxiety lately. I feel like if I could improve this, it would make such a difference in my life. I take Prozac daily and Xanax as needed. It does help me some to take a Xanax before going to the grocery store, but I don't want to depend on it!
I don't want to live this way forever. I'm a young lady, but I try to keep to myself as much as possible and don't draw attention towarRAB myself. I wear dress slacks most of the time that aren't tight or anything, and dress more professionally. When going to the store, I now tend to wear t-shirts because I hate to wear tanks or anything shows more skin if people will look at me. Nobody has literally attacked me or harassed me, but just made me uncomfortable with looks or inappropriate comments. Every day, I tend to have men who try to be polite and hold a door open for me, but I am freaking out inside because they are standing much closer to me than if I just opened it myself. I try to pretend that there was a distraction that I had to stop for. At grocery stores, I literally feel like the carts are all coming in towarRAB me to trap me. I feel awful!
Has anyone else had this happen with them or anything similar? I'd definitely be interested in anything that may help with this! I don't want to simply avoid the problems, because I can't avoid someone saying hello or opening a door for me. I feel so bad because a handful of people that bother me make me freak out and be nervous ALL the time. The inappropriate comments continue, but since I've quit going to that gym and don't go out for lunch as often, it's been much less. It DOES help me to go places with others, but I really like to go shopping alone most of the time. I want to find the right balance to protect myself while out in public, but not be frightened!
This has been the main source of my anxiety lately. I feel like if I could improve this, it would make such a difference in my life. I take Prozac daily and Xanax as needed. It does help me some to take a Xanax before going to the grocery store, but I don't want to depend on it!