Hi Spud,
I suppose you've probably heard the saying: "A problem shared is a problem halved" yeah? Then perhaps you already know, at least on an intellectual level, that if you tell someone else about your anxiety, then it may well lose its power over you. And in a way, you already have! You've told us on here!
If it helps to know, I have always found writing things down (or, these days, tapping it out on a keyboard) to be especially helpful in giving me the courage to then go and discuss it with someone else. Perhaps now that you have 'told' us here ion Beyond Blue, you could perhaps at least think about telling someone face to face? Little hint: the more we open up to others, the more they open up to us. You are probably much less alone with this than you think.
As for Facebook, yes, I too feel that it is certainly not the greatest place for self-esteem building.
I used to constantly compare my insides to everybody else's outsides, and always came off second best. Over time I came to realise that it was a grossly unfair comparison. And the reason I realised? Well, quite simply because I realised that there were days when I faked a smile on the outside, but felt like crap on the inside ..... and I thought 'If I can fake happiness, then surely other people have done the same thing at some point?'
You know how you see a duck on a pond, and it looks like it's just gliding along so graciously? But underneath the water, it's legs are going flat out, full steam ahead! ...... sometimes, I talk about my 'legs under the water' and other times I talk about the glide along the surface. For a long time, my life was both ..... but I just didn't acknowledge the 'under the surface' stuff before. And now I do.
And guess what? I am okay with being me now. Anxious some days, gliding on other days.
Anyway, just be true to you, warts and all. After all, no one else is qualified!
Hope that helps a little. xo
