#30 What you need to know about social anxiety and why it strikes
Get uneasy around new people? Worry about being judged? This is what I wish I knew years ago about those familiar fun-draining feelings...
It’s funny to think that when I first moved from London to Lisbon my single biggest fear was: would I make any friends? I’d left behind a solid, sprawling group of people I could count on IRL—connections steadfastly cultivated during years of education, work and that unpredictable thing called life—and suddenly found myself starting from scratch. At a time, mind you, when social distancing was the order of the day. But when regular socialising got back on its feet, I discovered that I felt wholly out of my comfort zone—even though interviewing strangers (including of the rather intimidating kind, from celebrities to top experts) is literally my job. It took a while before forging fresh in-person bonds, as strong as the ones back home still available to me virtually, began to feel less scary. Then something happened this week that took me right back to that headspace.