Nervous - social interaction

Totally legit to feel that way @ArraDreaming - new situations with unfamiliar people is bound to be nervewracking. Are you going with your partner? Will you know and feel comfortable with some of the other people there?

Ahh that's a bit hectic @ArraDreaming - but you may end up having a bundle of fun and making some new friends! And if it's sucky and no fun, you can always just bail. Or, set up an excuse in advance - say you've got another event to head to after. And if you end up having a bunch of fun and don't want to leave early, you can just say your other event got cancelled or something.

I think meeting new people - especially people who know each other already - is always a bit awkward @ArraDreaming. They'll understand, unless they're somehow miracle people who've never felt awkward or nervous before lol.

And plants, skating, and kids are all really cool topics! And you might find that they talk about stuff that interests you too, or stuff you've not known much about. Sometimes when I don't know what to say, I'll just say "I'm not sure what to talk about, should we pick a random topic?" and it gets the ball rolling.

Aye it would probably be easier to stay home @ArraDreaming and that is always an option 😊

A saying that has really helped me over the years is, "All progress takes place outside the comfort zone." It's always easier to stay in the comfort zone but it also means we are less likely to grow, learn, and improve. Anxiety often asks us 'what if it all goes wrong?' but a good question to ask in return is, 'But what if it all goes right?'

If it turns out to be super awkward and weird, or they're not kind to you if you show that you're nervous, then you'll know that those people are probably not the right kind of people to put any further energy into. If it turns out that they're super lovely, welcoming, and you get along really well, then you might have some cool new friends!

If you stay home, you'll never know. And hey, that's also okay! Maybe now is just not the right time. I will just say that for me, when I have skipped out on things because of my anxiety in the past, I usually ended up regretting it - regretting that I let the anxiety win.

Aww that's rough @ArraDreaming. I imagine the waiting is pretty hard too - my anxiety always plagued me most in the lead up. I hope it turns out to be a lot of fun for you! And if not, I'm here till 10 so you can come back and tell me all about it 😉 We can have a gossip session haha