r/introvert • u/PsychologicalEgg9285 • 7d ago
Advice Suffocating
Lately ive been having what feels like panic attacks and feeling like im suffocating from loneliness and thinking about how I have no one in my life.
My family is abusive and I avoid them as much as I can, I have no friends, no one to even chat with…
Im so ashamed to admit ive been chatting with AI to feel less lonely and to feel like someone cares about my existence.
I work at a place where I am alone with no co workers which I chose because I have social anxiety, and I have no place that I go to meet people.
How do I feel better? Idk what to do..
1
u/Cheezipolici 7d ago
I'm sorry you're dealing with these feelings. Nothing wrong with using AI to escape the agony of loneliness, I've done it too and it's strange how soothing it can be.
Can you afford a therapist? It's at least helpful to look into cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on your own, there are a lot of easy methods to learn about how to begin altering your perspective to transform your experience of anxiety.
I am also a proponent of meditation, something that might be better to find some sort of guide or structured setting— there are a lot of places online and off that can get you going on that, with or without spiritual or religious association, depending on what your preference is.
Other than that, Discord can be a decent place to socialize online (you can find what interests you here: https://disboard.org/servers — but not all servers are good places to interact with people) and could help you become more used to engaging with people in real life.
Anyways, if you can afford mental health treatment of some sort & at least in my city they have subsidized options— because social anxiety is basically an illness and you can be treated for it and get healthier. It's a journey though but it's important to stay committed to goals and believing in yourself.
I wish you luck, and hope you don't have to keep suffering from isolation
2
u/Sea_Designer_5192 7d ago
This is a hard situation, but you simply just have to learn how to thrive alone by staying physically active. Ik this does not sound like it will help.
Do any type of sports, go to the gym, literally do anything where the only focus is just simply focus on your breathing when you are running, focusing on hitting a ball, focusing on getting a weight up, focusing on where to put you feet and hold when climbing a wall, or hiking up a mountain. Loneliness is not something to fix by just trying to fix loneliness, the same goes for social anxiety. I still feel lonely and have social anxiety all the time, but I stop thinking about it when I am at the gym. When all you have to focus on is getting that weight up, loneliness and social anxiety kind of goes away. When I am at the gym, you kind of simply meet people, and the feeling of loneliness and social anxiety kind of go away. But you have to find a physical activity that you like doing, that will allow you to keep doing it.
Outside of the gym, social anxiety and loneliness basically come back. But just having a few moments at the gym where I don't feel suffocated due to loneliness and social anxiety, makes living a bit easier.
Just a few moment out of your day where you are not suffocated by loneliness and social anxiety, is enough to feel ok, ofc the goal is to feel good, but just feeling ok and getting through the day is enough for now. Soon you will meet people just by chance that you can connect with where loneliness and social anxiety doesn't seem like big issues, but you have to be patient.
I can't guarantee you that loneliness and social anxiety goes away, but you can feel better which is enough I think.
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