Poll: Forum Anxiety?

[mexicola]

Sort of. I tend not to post on highly contested topics because I don't plan on getting into a quote-off with other posters, yet if I don't respond I feel they will feel like they "won" or that they shut me up - so I just don't post anything to begin with.

And then there's the case of starting to type a post and then just closing the tab half way through because "Who gives a fuck?" Almost had it happen in this post too.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I do have that innate fear of saying something stupid, or something easily misunderstood. A lot of posters here can be vicious in their replies at times, and replying back to them isn't something I look forward to...when it happens.

Sometimes I just can't contribute to the topic at hand or I feel like my answer is insignificant anyways. Truth be told, my answers are almost always insignificant... -sob-

 

[Sticky Squid]

I'm far far too arrogant to not let people hear my opinion on absolutely anything that catches my interest.

 

[Jast]

Yes, I do. So please don't read this.

 

[Vanilla_Druid]

Nope. Never suffered from that.

I will strut through these forums just not giving a fuck till the banhammer hits me.

Count yourself fortunate. I wish I had more courage.

 

[Guffe]

Hi, Escapists!

Despite having been a forum-goer for several years now, I still find myself mildly tense when it comes to writing a post, creating a new thread or in some cases, writing/responding to a PM.

I'm not entirely sure why this is - perhaps a fear of what people will think, or that I won't communicate my ideas properly? - but it's an interesting occurrence, and one I feel can't be too uncommon given how similar it is to social anxiety, something which seems to be a lot more common nowadays.

Does anyone else ever feel this way when browsing the Escapist, or indeed any other forums you may frequent? Do you have any insight as to why this happens to you?

There, quoted you, what you gonna do now?

On Topic:
Making threads is something I have only done very rarely, why? I don't know, but answering and wuoting is something I don't mind at all.

Captcha: Angel Wings, coincidence?

 

[Natasha_LB]

My post count probably gives it away : (

I've been here a long time, but I'm very rarely confident enough to post. It's interesting to see that this affects other people as well, I thought perhaps is was a spill over from my general anxiety, but the fact that other people have it suggest that it's something more.

Any tips on over coming anxiety? Right now I have 2 threads I want to post in, and even though I need a cigarette, I'm to scared to leave my room because my housemates are home : (

 

[Something Amyss]

Yeah. But I have social anxiety irl too so it's only natural it would affect me online somewhat.

See, online interaction does not affect me as actual physical or even phone interaction does.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

I occasionally stop writing and close the window because I've either lost interest or I'm just reiterating points made 17 times on the first page but I never get anxiety or a fear that people won't care what I say. People always care about what I have to say.

 

[MBaskerville]

I always heavily revise a forum post before it ever reaches the internet. Just to make sure that I'm consistent in my opinions ect, once you get to know a few people on a forum I usually relax a bit.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

Any tips on over coming anxiety? Right now I have 2 threads I want to post in, and even though I need a cigarette, I'm to scared to leave my room because my housemates are home : (

Something I neglected to mention in my OP is that I've suffered from social anxiety in the past, and to a lesser degree, still have it now. When I first developed it, it was really bad - I ended up dropping out of college and essentially becoming a hermit for a few years. I don't remember exactly how I started getting over it, but a few things that helped me were:

> Music. It can be incredibly empowering, and gives you something to focus on instead of whatever you happen to be worrying about at the time.
> Because I was usually afraid of vomiting in public, I used to always carry a bottle of water with me. I found that sipping water helped to calm me down when I started to panic.
> If you find yourself overanalyzing a situation to the point where you're talking yourself out of doing something, stop. If just stopping that thought process doesn't work, promise yourself you'll worry about it later. It sounds crazy, but it works. (And you usually forget to worry about it afterwards.)
> Moral support! Whether that comes in the form of friends or family, it's nice to know that you have people fighting your corner if things start to go wrong.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I don't know if it's as much anxiety as it is a mentality of "Eh, why bother".

It's usually me thinking, "Nobody's going to read it, nobody's going to care. Why am I wasting my time with this?"

Says the man with seven thousand posts.

OT: Depends on the day and the question. I'm always a bit nervous expressing myself. I hold many unpopular views and am nowhere near as good with words as I would like.

 

[GmonXyZ]

~snip~

I never experienced anything as strong as you have, but when i get stressed i try to stop for a moment, close my eyes, deeply breath in and out a couple of times and think of something that will make me smile(A dog chasing its tail, or w/e).

Don't try this while driving or operating dangerous equipment

 

[Casual Shinji]

I don't know if it's as much anxiety as it is a mentality of "Eh, why bother".

It's usually me thinking, "Nobody's going to read it, nobody's going to care. Why am I wasting my time with this?"

Says the man with seven thousand posts.

Hey, even an experienced stand-up comedian can still have stage fright.

 

[mParadox]

.

Wahey! You're back! *jumps on*

...

Tea?

*catches and hugs* Of course Sir. With or without sugar?

 

[ZtH]

I'll write out a long and thoughtful post, and then just close the tab because I realise I don't benefit from giving my opinion that no-one will either read or care about. But anxiety? Up until 100 posts maybe. I never make new threads, so wouldn't really know about it there.

Lurkers read every post. And sometimes if its a really awesome post we even care...

 

[Richardplex]

I'll write out a long and thoughtful post, and then just close the tab because I realise I don't benefit from giving my opinion that no-one will either read or care about. But anxiety? Up until 100 posts maybe. I never make new threads, so wouldn't really know about it there.

Lurkers read every post. And sometimes if its a really awesome post we even care...

Too bad it is never me who's posting one of these awesome posts then, no?

My post count probably gives it away : (

I've been here a long time, but I'm very rarely confident enough to post. It's interesting to see that this affects other people as well, I thought perhaps is was a spill over from my general anxiety, but the fact that other people have it suggest that it's something more.

Any tips on over coming anxiety? Right now I have 2 threads I want to post in, and even though I need a cigarette, I'm to scared to leave my room because my housemates are home : (

If you have enough willpower/something to emulate willpower/somewhat sociopathic, you can do what I do, simply realise there is no benefit in it and simply stop feeling it. Of course this will likely be merely internalising the issue and lead to significant problems later down the line but eh, future self's problem.

 

[Eggsnham]

Nope, I actually find myself a lot more open on the internet.

Sometimes that's a bad thing, as I have been known to act like an idiot every now and again, but usually it's not that big of a deal.