social anxiety at work place

[Acatseekinghelp]

hi! this is my first post. I am a teacher and I have a fear that my young female students might misinterpret my facial expressions as having some weird looks on my face such as anxiety or they migh think wrongly think that I am interested sexually in them and I try to avoid eye contact. lately I have not been going to work.

[blackcat64013]

Thank you for your post.I suffered a lot with social anxiety. After lots of therapy, I understand my behaviors were coping mechanisms. They were how I dealt with a deep fear of being seen and observed. That fear even has a clinical name: social anxiety. As it turns out, one in every 14 people in the world experiences it.

Though most of us are likely to feel anxious about important thing, those of us who struggle with social anxiety come up against those feelings more frequently. Social anxiety is not fleeting. It’s a mental health condition that can make us retreat and hide in our regular, everyday life.

I have used a very useful website to assist me when the going gets tough.

hbr.org/2022/04/how-i-manag...

If you are at work, your school might have an employee assistance program (EAP). The EAP helps you access a number of free therapy sessions to address your anxiety and even non-work issues. The sessions are a confidential, short-term, solutions focussed counselling, coaching and mentoring service. The EAP is paid for by your employer so there is no cost to you.

I encourage you to take advantage of the EAP. Sometimes, the hardest thing is admitting we have the issue and making that first appointment.

Wishing you all the best 🦘