"...in order to feel social anxiety, you have to believe that other people’s negative opinions of you are worth getting upset about, that it’s really bad if they dislike you and really important to win their approval. Even people who suffer from severe social anxiety disorder (social phobia) tend to feel “normal” when speaking to children or to their close friends about trivial matters, with a few exceptions. Nevertheless, they feel highly anxious when talking to people they think are very important about subjects they think are very important. If your fundamental worldview, by contrast, assumes that your status in the eyes of others is of negligible importance, then it follows that you should be beyond the reach of social anxiety."
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson
Monday, January 29, 2024
"Beyond the reach of social anxiety"
As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you, if you realized how seldom they do."
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As someone who used to deal with high levels of anxiety, it's very interesting to look back on my younger self. She was so worried about other peoples' thoughts and rarely took the time to think about her own well being. While I still deal with prominent anxiety, it's refreshing to be able to compare my old self with the newer version of me who has come to learn that it doesn't matter what others think.
ReplyDeleteCarly Coleman H01
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