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50 Memes That You Might Find Painfully Relatable If You Have Social Anxiety
Interview With Expert
Do your palms get sweaty when your phone starts ringing and you realize you’ll have to answer it? Do you have to hype yourself up for 15 minutes before approaching an employee in a store to ask for help? Are you thrilled when your friends cancel plans last minute, and you get to spend an evening by yourself?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, first of all, you’re not alone. And second, you seem to have come to the right place! We took a trip to the Social Anxiety Memes Instagram account and gathered some of their most relatable posts below. So enjoy scrolling through, and keep reading to find a conversation with Arlin Cuncic of About Social Anxiety!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Saphyre Fyre 5 months ago
word [wərd] noun word (noun) · words (plural noun) · a word (noun) · one's word (noun) · one's words (plural noun) a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed: "I don't like the word “unofficial”" · "so many words for so few ideas" a single distinct conceptual unit of language, comprising inflected and variant forms. (words) something spoken or written; a remark or statement: "his grandfather's words had been meant kindly" · "a word of warning" (a word) even the smallest amount of something spoken or written: "don't believe a word of it" (words) angry talk: "her father would have had words with her about that" speech as distinct from action: "he conforms in word and deed to the values of a society that he rejects" a command, password, or signal: "someone gave me the word to start playing"
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Ugh, do I have to? 5 months ago
As an extrovert, I honestly think I need to learn to be more comfortable with silence and remember that some people don't want to talk, cus whenever it's quiet I'm like "oop this is awkward, should I say something?"
Rick Murray 5 months ago
That's like saying "Stop being a girl (or boy). Just stop."
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#2
Regina Holt 5 months ago
No, I cannot imagine. Well, I can use my imagination, but that's about it.
Diane Business 4 months ago
I live my life backwards.... wake up tired and go to bed wide awake.
Rick Murray 5 months ago
In a word, no. I wake so many times in the night. Wrong side, wrong eyeballs, wrong flaming human, wrong wrong wrong. And when nothing is physically wrong to wake me, the giant soggy noodle will pipe up with "do you realise how stupid this dream is?" and then start pointing out why. Like, thanks, I can exist perfectly well with zero REM sleep, right?
#3
To learn more about this topic, we got in touch with Arlin Cuncic of About Social Anxiety. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and explain what it's like to experience social anxiety.
"Social anxiety is a strong fear of being judged, embarrassed, or rejected in social situations," Arlin says. "It's more than feeling shy - it can show up as overthinking what you said, avoiding social events, or feeling physical symptoms like a racing heart or blushing. If these reactions happen often and start interfering with your daily life, relationships or work, it could be social anxiety."
#4
keyboardtek 5 months ago
One nice aspect of turning 70 is that my memory is no longer good enough to remember many of my cringe experiences.
Rick Murray 5 months ago
I don't obsess much over things that were, the past happened, not much I can do about it. But things that will be... When I don't have other things to overthink (and sometimes when I do) it's straight to the terrors that await. 🥺
#5
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martin734 5 months ago
Why? That is ridiculous. If you want to wear one, by all means go ahead. Just don't expect everyone else to do the same.
Load More Replies...So what are some of the best ways to treat social anxiety? "Gradually facing the situations you fear is one of the best ways to reduce social anxiety," Arlin shared. "Tools like CBT techniques, mindfulness, and journaling can also help. It might not disappear completely for everyone, but it can become much more manageable - something that no longer runs your life."
#7
#8
Khavrinen 5 months ago
You can't have guilt about being a horrible friend if no one is willing to be your friend in the first place!
Michael Largey 5 months ago
Anyone who expects me to read - let alone reply to - a text doesn't know me well enough to be a friend.
detective miller's hat 5 months ago
Nah, it works out because my closest friends are also like this.
Rick Murray 5 months ago
Looks at list of unanswered emails that have been starred as "do something". Looks at dates. Umm... Maybe I ought to...
Rick Murray 5 months ago
The thing is, while I was at work doing a mindless repetitive task, I crafted a perfect and lovely reply to that email. Now you want me to sit at a keyboard and do it all over again? It'll be cråp, it won't ever be as good, and I'll be upset with the final result so I'll have to delete it and try again and... somebody please remind everybody that this is why me replying takes far too long....
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#9
RiceRiceBaby 929 5 months ago
It's better than stressing over something you can't change. I'm content in my bubble 🫧 😌
We also asked the expert if there's anything loved ones can do to help someone struggling with social anxiety. "Be patient and supportive without pushing them into situations they're not ready for. Instead of saying, 'just relax' or 'don't worry,' try asking what would make them feel more comfortable," Arlin noted. "Encouragement is helpful - pressure usually isn't. Small, consistent support goes a long way."
"On my website, they can find practical, evidence-informed resources to help with social anxiety," she added. "This includes a free resource library, guided workbooks, and an online masterclass designed to support people step-by-step toward feeling better."
#10
The Majestic Opossum 5 months ago
I prefer to think of the opportunities I've taken because of the ones I "missed"
keyboardtek 5 months ago
"Don't be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an opportunity somebody wishes they had missed". Lily Tomlin
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Rick Murray 5 months ago
Corollary: Thank whatever floaty sky fairy you believe in for all the train wrecks that you managed to avoid by not getting involved.
#11
Sharkfin6 5 months ago
Weird thing is a have trouble doing this for myself but will do it without hesitation for a friend.
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
Really not weird, doing it for yourself seems like being needy, for a friend is just helping them. Helping is always good
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Brian Droste 5 months ago
As I got older and need to make a phone call for like an appointment I get nervous for some reason and I don't consider myself an extrovert.
#12
Mary Peace 5 months ago
Yes. Now I'm anxious about being anxious. And how to explain I missed the party/meeting, etc because of anxiety.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, support groups might even be able to help those struggling with social anxiety. And while it might be difficult to find others who are willing to openly discuss their mental health issues, pages like Social Anxiety Memes can allow individuals to know that they’re not alone. In fact, there are plenty of other people who feel the same way! There’s no need to suffer in silence.
#13
Nadine Bamberger 5 months ago
That's the face of someone calm, collected and totally NOT freaking out at alll 😂
#15
Another underrated method of combatting social anxiety is using humor to cope. But the Social Anxiety Institute notes on their website that laughter really can be medicine when it comes to social phobia. They first explain that the endorphins we get flooded with when laughing can cancel out the adrenaline and cortisol that people with social anxiety are often feeling the effects of. This can help them stay cool, calm and collected and remind them that they’re not actually in any danger.
#16
S P 5 months ago (edited)
Honestly, yes. Teach WELLNESS and BALANCE but also how anxiety and depression can be normal expected reactions to situations over which we have no control. And most importantly, how to tell when it's normal, normal and we need extra support, or problematic and we need intervention.
keyboardtek 5 months ago
And those of us with herniated disks and damaged backs only learn the proper way to lift something after we have back surgery. Stuff we should be taught in school but instead we are taught Trigonometry.
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
They are probably vaguely informed about the concept, but until it hits them they have other things to worry about. And we don't want to encourage any Munchausen effects. And school time is rather packed these days ...
Beak Hookage 5 months ago
The last school I worked at did mindfulness every single day with soothing music, and after that the kids would watch an ASMR video. They loved it and it really calmed them down after recess. Heck, it calmed me down too!
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Of course, humor can bring about many social benefits as well. Laughter might make a person more comfortable expressing their true feelings, and it can quickly break the tension in any room. At the same time, humor brings people together and strengthens bonds, so laughing with others might make it much easier for socially anxious individuals to make friends.
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#20
Abel 5 months ago
It is not an introvett thing. It is about personal space. Mine is around 1000Km.
Floeckchen 5 months ago
May I interest you in a nice housing plot on Bouvet Island?
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Doug Moyer 5 months ago
I don't think I'm more mature. I just have no interest in "celebrating". I don't want to be the focus. I absolutely don't want a gift. I'm not an introvert. All of that stuff is exhausting. So much pretending.
Nikki Sevven 5 months ago
The horrible experience of sitting motionless with a smile frozen on your face while a bunch of people sing Happy Birthday in five different keys.
Load More Replies... Floeckchen 5 months ago (edited)
Its a day when people who don't care about you all year round suddenly remember that you exist and pretend to be nice to you.
Rick Murray 5 months ago
I'm one year older. One year more of this shítshow that I have endured. Celebrate? Just put the bloody kettle on and let me pretend today is just another day like all the ones that came before it...
Because of all the benefits people with anxiety can experience from laughing, Dr. Richards at the Social Anxiety Institute says it should always be utilized in therapy groups. “I have the group stand up and begin to laugh,” he shared. “We don't laugh at anything specifically; we just laugh. Laughter seems forced and difficult at first, but the more you become accustomed to laughing for longer lengths, the more you feel natural and the easier it is to reduce feelings of self-consciousness.”
#22
Doug Moyer 5 months ago
That's what voicemail is for. My phone (which is also my work phone) has been on do not disturb mode and ringer off for several years.
Nikole 5 months ago
And *visual* voicemail where the recording is transcribed is the BEST.
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Luke Branwen 5 months ago
That's legit because nowadays, like 80% of calls from unknown number are scams.
Rick Murray 5 months ago
If you're not in my address book, it goes straight to voicemail and I check that every once in a while (usually "select all" then "delete").
Nadine Bamberger 5 months ago (edited)
If you knew me you wouldn't have called in the first place. Text me.
#23
Nadine Bamberger 5 months ago
Hours, nonsense, that's for rookies, don't talk to me unti you've hit 4 decades 😂
#24
We hope you’re enjoying your scroll through these memes about social anxiety, pandas. Keep upvoting the ones that you find particularly relatable, and let us know in the comments below if you’ve found any effective ways of managing your anxiety. Then, if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda article featuring similar memes, we’ve got the perfect list to visit next right here!
#25
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
Little known fact - the 'dawn chorus' is just the birds arguing, as usual
Beak Hookage 5 months ago
Right now I keep having to figure out if that's the cockatoos screaming, or my neighbours who hate each other.
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azubi 5 months ago
12 is correct: "only your best friend know your secrets So only he could reveal it" (Bob Marley).
Load More Replies... LooseSeal's $10 Banana 5 months ago
As a matter of fact, he calls them friends explicitly.
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#27
#28
Daria 5 months ago
when i'm reading a book i disappear from the material world, so i probably won't even react
BrownEyedGrrl 5 months ago
My daughter asked me a question 3 times. I didn't mean to ignore her. I'm reading a really good book.
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detective miller's hat 5 months ago
This was (one of very many reasons) why living with my mother was a nightmare.
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#33
Rika 5 months ago
I call them by a random name, and when they point out it's not their name, I go like, "I know! But you look so much like this artist I love!" They're usually flattered and happy I consider them close enough to give them a nickname, they don't try to find out whether that artist even exists.
Luke Branwen 5 months ago
Happened with my high school classmate about a week ago 😅 In my defense, I look exactly the same as I did in HS while the dude LITERALLY had the Will Poulter glow-up
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#38
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
(best friend is now torn between 'happy to have you as a best friend' and 'want you to be happier by having more friends'
#39
#41
Beak Hookage 5 months ago
Not to worry, ancestors - we didn't learn a blessed thing from your mistakes so there's plenty more war and famine where that came from.
#42
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
I suggest that the more helpful phrase would be "nobody *else* remembers"
#43
#44
Motherofguineapigz 5 months ago
and says 'Be right back' goes into the kitchen and makes bacon and pours me a glass of wine.
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 5 months ago
Evolution is at a loss to explain how there are still introverts after so many generations of the extroverts having all the s*x
Ugh, do I have to? 5 months ago
Hehe, I adopted my introverted bf a couple weeks after being in a class together, that's close enough right?
#45
detective miller's hat 5 months ago
I would stare maniacally and unblinking at the teacher and that made most of them NEVER call on me.
Rick Murray 5 months ago
When your answer is a high speed stream of consciousness that has little, if anything, to do with the question but grapples with really deep questions like "if goldfish live rent free in a bowl in a house, why don't they have to make a tax declaration stating this situation".....you will find that teachers generally tend to stop calling on you.
#47
Michael Largey 5 months ago
With me it's different. I will ask that staff member so I can get my shopping done as quickly as possible and flee for home.
Ale Fab 5 months ago
In our defense... 40 minutes is dwarfed by the total time it takes to: - track the staff member down; - follow said staff around, waiting for a pause in their activity; - when the pause comes, rehearse the speech in our head; - resume following the person around, as the pause is gone; - another pause comes, we blurt our words out awkwardly; - the person asks us to repeat, 'cause they didn't get it; - fret while we examine the words we said for the root cause of the problem; - blurt another sentence out, mostly just a change of tone, hoping we get it right this time; - the person understands now, confirms what we already know: item out of stock! - profusely apologize for disrupting their important day of work; - now, where were we with our shopping?
Beak Hookage 5 months ago
I can be very antisocial and spend most of my time alone, but I actually *like* talking to staff members when I need help because it makes shopping more sociable and therefore more pleasant. I'm that rather unfortunate thing: an extrovert who is also autistic. So I both love to socialise while also finding it exhausting as f**k and getting stressed out if there's too much noise or bright light. If you're not autistic, you have NO IDEA just how hostile a place the average supermarket is. It's like being assaulted the entire time.
Rick Murray 5 months ago
Sunglasses and noise cancelling headphones, and I still avoid the fresh veg aisle, holy hell those lights...and they must be wired up to different phases or something because the rhythmic flickering *between them* is both mesmerising and nauseous.
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Andrew Keir 5 months ago
We're all cautious about possible changes to our friends. This is a good thing - it's called "looking out for them". Nobody can tell for sure if we're over-analysing - until so much later that their assistance is worthless. Sometimes, we just have to take life second by second
#50
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#54
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
Hint - having no friends is *not* cool, and difficult to recover from
#55
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
No, I've just decided to let the world spin on without me being centre-stage
#59
Nicole Weymann 5 months ago
Exiting Aldi's on a Wednesday morning: "Bye! Have a nive weekend!"
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
If it's always sunrise somewhere on earth, whatever time it is with you right now, why can't it be Friday evening somewhere on Earth right now, too?
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#62
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 5 months ago
Yep. I'd rather do more physical work than expend the mental energy of telling others how to help and ensuring stuff actually got done right.
LadyKing 5 months ago
And then having to do it yourself anyway because they did it wrong. Preach 🙌🏼
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Andrew Keir 5 months ago
Needs a differentiation between "social skills with people you hardly know" and "social skills with a close friend who knows you better than you know yourself"
#65
#69
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
It's only an excuse if they decide to accept it. Up till then, it's an explanation of your failures
#72
#76
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
"Best" I might understand, but what is a "friend" ?
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#78
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
Hint - luggage holds are not heated and rarely pressurised. Hypothermia will fight anoxia for the privilege of kíllíng you.
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#82
Luke Branwen 5 months ago
Nah fam, that's me when my hair start to get a little too long before a haircut
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 5 months ago
Photographer did not take a 'whole body ' picture, mostly because they had left their wide angle lens at home ...
#83
Michael Largey 5 months ago
Remember that "tell me about yourself" and "tell me the truth about yourself" are two entirely separate requests.
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#89
Regina Holt 5 months ago
The less noise there is around me, the louder my tinnitus is. Makes falling asleep without music hard.
#90
#100
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
How do you know the other person is actually OK? "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about". Be kind
#102
Nicole Weymann 5 months ago (edited)
Yupp, me at work where 80% of my phonecalls is about one specific topic that is outside of my responsibilities and means. "Here is the number of the department" - "Oh, thank you. You see we've been having this problem for sone time now, and after all we do pay for the service" - "Yes, I understand, it's annoying and I'm sorry. So if you call the department with the number I gave you..." - "Yes, I will. I didn't say anything the first two times it happened, because mistakes can happen, but......." JUST CALL THE D**N NUMBER AND TELL *THEM*!
#107
Andrew Keir 5 months ago
There's this new communications method that sometimes works - it's called 'speech'
#112
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Emilu 5 months ago
Don't get me wrong, these do sometimes make me laugh, but where are all the extrovert problem memes? Surely they exist. It's about 50/50 extroverts/introverts IIRC, maybe leaning a bit more toward the introverts? Even still. I'm not an extrovert but they deserve love too ❤️
Rick Murray 5 months ago
Extrovert problems: I have adopted a pet introvert, what do I do with it?
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Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
I have always been high on the introvert scale, but life and goals forced me into the world - and I think I'm better for it. I know I can do the things if I have to. I worry about celebrating anxious and introverted behavior because it literally limits people's lives and prevents them from learning what they can do if necessary - and doing things that might actually bring them joy and love. I will never desire to be the life of the party, but I can be at the party, and enjoy it - for exactly 3 hours, no more.
Emilu 5 months ago (edited)
This is me too, except I will never enjoy big gatherings like parties tend to be. I’m so grateful my parents kicked my a*s and made me get a job when I finished school. Said job was retail, and obviously you need to talk to people. I was socially challenged (to put it nicely) when I began but now I can easily hold a conversation one on one/one on two with strangers without sounding like a being from outer space. Just the parties still freak me out. Luckily my close friends know this and they’ll do something with me separately to celebrate whoever’s birthday it is. This isn’t introversion, though… this is social anxiety. I happen to be an introvert that has social anxiety. Not all introverts will avoid parties because they get freaked out like I do.
Load More Replies... Ugh, do I have to? 5 months ago
my extroverted self felt like an alien while reading these... maybe we are just a different species lol
Emilu 5 months ago
Don't get me wrong, these do sometimes make me laugh, but where are all the extrovert problem memes? Surely they exist. It's about 50/50 extroverts/introverts IIRC, maybe leaning a bit more toward the introverts? Even still. I'm not an extrovert but they deserve love too ❤️
Rick Murray 5 months ago
Extrovert problems: I have adopted a pet introvert, what do I do with it?
Load More Replies... Mel in Georgia 5 months ago
I have always been high on the introvert scale, but life and goals forced me into the world - and I think I'm better for it. I know I can do the things if I have to. I worry about celebrating anxious and introverted behavior because it literally limits people's lives and prevents them from learning what they can do if necessary - and doing things that might actually bring them joy and love. I will never desire to be the life of the party, but I can be at the party, and enjoy it - for exactly 3 hours, no more.
Emilu 5 months ago (edited)
This is me too, except I will never enjoy big gatherings like parties tend to be. I’m so grateful my parents kicked my a*s and made me get a job when I finished school. Said job was retail, and obviously you need to talk to people. I was socially challenged (to put it nicely) when I began but now I can easily hold a conversation one on one/one on two with strangers without sounding like a being from outer space. Just the parties still freak me out. Luckily my close friends know this and they’ll do something with me separately to celebrate whoever’s birthday it is. This isn’t introversion, though… this is social anxiety. I happen to be an introvert that has social anxiety. Not all introverts will avoid parties because they get freaked out like I do.
Load More Replies... Ugh, do I have to? 5 months ago
my extroverted self felt like an alien while reading these... maybe we are just a different species lol
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