Feel the fear and do it anyway

Smalltalk at meetings, conferences etc - I always say something wrong. I can answer questions, participate in discussion and give opinions, but smalltalk brings me out in a cold sweat.

Everything scares me: you name it: spiders, driving, heights, lifts, confined spaces, the telephone, the dark, parties, crowds.....I am terrified of the lot of them.

Like many previous posters I used to be reasonably confident about most things, I'd get a bit nervous before speaking to large groups, would always got lost when travelling for work (would find the town no problem but the actual office was another matter). Nowadays the slightest thing, hairdressers, dentist, doctors, having to make a phone call sends me running to the bathroom with a nervous stomach. As for driving, DH has done all of it since retirement but is now too ill so if we want to go anywhere I have to drive. He becomes incredibly nervous, I drive like an idiot with the constant critique and the end result is a blazing row. Oh the joys of old age!!!

Using a car wash machine. I couldn’t tell which nozzle to use first: it seemed counter intuitive and the bleepin thing cut out before ai’d washed the foam off.

Escalators
Being a passenger in a car

That’s about it really, but I agree with other posters that anxiety levels in general have risen since the lockdowns.

Lifts terrify me but since I have now developed mobility problems I have to use them, my daughter tells me that mobile phones do work if stuck in a lift, so would ring fire brigade.

I get lost really easily, I have no sense of direction . Luckily I don't drive, but I am quite an impulsive person, some see me as brave, but it's not bravado, it's just impulsiveness. I do feel the fear but I always do it anyway, whether I should or shouldn't is a different matter.

Dentist for me along with spiders. Unfortunately I'm on my own now so I will have to deal with the 8 legged things eventually. As for dentist I haven't been for years but during lockdown I've had two teeth cause me trouble so I know I will have to go at some point.

I know what you mean about hand car washes. I won’t use one. I’m basically afraid of looking silly or doing the wrong thing. Has held me back from so many things.

Mine is putting air in the tyres. I can’t get down comfortably to fit the air pump onto the valve so have to wait for a family member to do it for me.

Me too! Isn’t it silly. That’s why I like to text or WhatsApp but I have a couple of friends who prefer phone calls and I’m constantly feeling guilty for not phoning them.

I don't mind calls to doctors, businesses etc. It's chatting that I hate. It takes me days to pluck up the courage. Much prefer texts. It's so good to know it's normal.