My Fear Of People Essay

My Fear of People

I have never made friends easily in my life. I was shy, I was afraid to talk to people, and I was scared to be with large groups of people. My parents and I thought that this was just a phase and I would grow out of it. As the years went by however, the fear of talking to other people had only increased. It was at its worst when I went on a trip to Washington D.C. my middle school has every year for the eighth graders. During that trip in early June, there was a dance that was mandatory. I really didn’t want to go because I knew I would just be sitting in the corner, bored out of my mind. I thought this dance was just going to be another event where I was bored, but at the time I had no idea this dance would be one of the most important events of my

I never knew that my shyness and my fear of interacting with most people had a name and was considered a disorder. My doctor then said that what happened at the dance was my first panic attack and that I had nothing to be afraid of. I believed him. I knew I was going to be okay because now I knew my limits of social events and what I am able to handle. I walked out of the doctor’s office, confident and hopeful that I knew what I had and I would do anything I could to make sure I don’t have another panic

If I never had that panic attack, I never would have known I have Social Anxiety Disorder. I would have always thought that I was just really shy and that I would just get over it but that day would have never come. Now, I have found ways to cope with it, and I have surrounded myself with people who love me and understand what I am going though. While I still get really nervous in social situations, I have also found more people that I can be comfortable with and be myself