Help

[isabellaaa]

Last year i started highschool and it was a rough experience with social anxiety so this year i took the year off to do homeschool , anyway next year i am going back to the same school i finished at last time with my best friend . There is a problem though i feel like i rely on her too much , last year when we went to the same school i would only go to school if she was there and if i knew she was leaving early that day i just wouldn't attend i also had to walk into school with her everyday , i could leave by myself but just walking into school by myself wasn't ideal . I constantly followed her during breaks and had to do every project with her , it got to a point where one of her friends was getting jealous and would always fight with me over it . i had felt so bad even though my best friend herself didn't mention it and everytime i would say " am i following you too much " she would say no way i dont mind . deep down though i know she must have been annoyed with me constantly relying on her , i just need some help on letting go of being around her 24-7 and some ways to deal with social anxiety at school so i can gointo next year with no worries xx

[Zoea]

Hmm complex problem I don't have a lot of domain knowledge about. Ask yourself (or get counselling about) what it is that you feel means you need to be with her to enter School and go about group projects, breaks, etc, just with her? See if you can come to some understanding of what is causing the level of anxiety that you would have to leave school for a year and are now worrying about returning. I think you should take it as given that your friend understands your situation and is willing to support you in the way s that you need. Perhaps if you could go to a GP with your friend and open up about your problems you could get a referral and perhaps some therapy at the same time. See if that's an option for you both.

I wish you luck and hope others will chime in with good advice. Social Anxiety can be a real problem but often it's something that can be treated and perhaps grown out of (at a guess?)?