This is just weird and annoying

[Xilentstorm]

So last year I was depressed and this year I'm transitioning into anxiety (I know, lucky me) and recently I've actually been feeling pretty good I was never terrible (my heart goes out to some of the stories I'm seeing on here) but it still sucked.

Anyway, I feel better and I thought I did a decent job of not letting everyone around me know what was going on, except people I wanted to tell. I'm a private person, I don't want the world to know. But I just asked my friend if he wanted to meet up, simply because I hadn't seen him in a while and wanted to have a normal friendly catchup. And he asked me if I was OK. And another example - I've been chatting to someone for a few weeks, never met them before, and they said they could tell I had some things going on.

Like, am I just an open book to people?? I've even been feeling pretty good the past few months. And then this, it just makes me feel really confused and more socially anxious and it feels like I've had my privacy stripped away, which feels horrible.

Have any of you lovely people encountered anything like this before? Do you have any tips? I just want special people to know, not everyone.

Ta,

Lez

[LoriMS61]

Hi,

So I am recovering from depression and anxiety, and thought I'd share some experience with you.

I'm really pleased to hear that you are doing well. Anxiety is a right pain. I'm currently trying to work through the panic attacks I'm getting when I'm in work and when I'm driving home, so I know the struggle.

In this new job I have given myself a fresh start. No one knows about my depression, my grief or my past. It is such a freeing experience. But I know that sometimes, when a sad thought slips through my chinks, they might be able to see my pain. I even had to excuse myself once because someone innocently said something that triggered my emotional pain.

Our faces, body language and words give us away in everything we do. It just takes someone who is really paying attention and is astute to pick up on this. Just because they notice something, doesn't mean you have to share.

You could thank them for their thoughtfulness, and say it isn't something you wish to discuss. I think that, because of what I've gone through, I can sense people's emotions even without them doing anything. In doing so, it's also my responsibility to decide whether that person wants their emotions addressing. They might want to keep the facade in place as armour. They might want to be distracted from their pain, or like you, they might be a private person.

Lori