Saturday 13 February 2016

Going to Gigs Alone When You Have Social Anxiety

Social Anxiety has you torn between wanting to get in as soon as the doors open and secure a spot right at the front and contemplating waiting in your car until five minutes before the first band come on.

Social Anxiety has you rapidly switching between the excitement and anticipation of waiting for a band you love to come on stage, to almost-paralysing fear and a strong urge to leave (or at least go hide in a toilet cubicle for a while).

Social Anxiety means hoping you see someone you vaguely know while also hoping that you don't because what would you even say? How do I carry on a conversation when it feels like my stomach is being slowly squeezed in barbed wire and my heart is racing?

Social Anxiety means that even if you've met the band you're seeing a few times already, you sometimes have even more to worry about. What if they think I'm a weirdo for coming to so many gigs on my own? If I go say hi, will I just like a stalker? And again, how do people even speak to each other?

Seeing a band you love onstage means everything. You feel excited, you feel happy. It's the best feeling in the world. So you keep putting yourself through all of the above. Maybe one day it will get easier.

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