Social anxiety, verbal diarrhea and the poopy face.

Social anxiety.  A LOT of people suffer from it to various degrees.  I'm kind of sort of one of those people.  I don't have full-blown attacks or stutter or suddenly become gassy for no reason, but I do feel more than a little nervous.  When I feel nervous, I talk a lot.   A LOT, a lot.  Think "verbal diarrhea".

I suppose my anxiety could be attributed to my hearing loss.  I often miss things said in a group and become uncomfortable, so as a preemptive strike I may dominate the conversation in a roomful of people I don't know.  It's like Open Mic Night without the funny.

When a room is full of people you don't know, it can alternate between seeming big enough to get lost in or small enough to choke you to death.  I get twitchy when those strangers poke at my protective bubble with their mumbling small talk.

This is not to say that I'm completely unsociable.  I'm not.  I am happy to share my personal space with you and chew the fat, shoot the shit and guffaw and holler at your jokes...until you wear out your welcome and I grow anxious for you to leave. You can usually tell when that time comes.  I get "the poopy face".  It's a sort of vacant, half-smiling, "I'm not really listening to you because I'm severely constipated" expression and it looks a little like this:

I like my bubble, but there is room for more than just me in here.  So you may stay until I start making that face.





Do you get nervous in social situations?