My Support Forums - View Single Post - Social Anxiety & Class Participation (HELP!!)

+Fight+The+Illness+ · Sep 05, 2011, 04:32 PM

UPDATE

I forgot to give you guys an update! My bad..

My professor is an absolutely incredible human being...period. I met with him in his office on Wednesday and we just talked a bit and whatnot. He even told me that he had a similar experience back when he was a college student. Apparently, he would count whenever he got nervous; he would count how many seconds it would take him to calm down (going all the up into the thousands), but he didn't count in the normal numeric pattern. I don't think I can really explain what he told me, but sometimes he would count in the normal "1,2,3,4,..." but then other times he would just count using even numbers, and then count other times using only odd numbers. But he told me that he was able to break that kind of nervous thinking, so he kind of understands what anxiety is all about (he had OCD, but he admits that he still finds himself going back to the train of thought).

It's quite comforting knowing that my professor actually has a general idea of what I'm experiencing. I hate it when people just say a bunch of stuff and have absolutely no idea what they're talking about or have any experience with whatever the situation may be. But he actually has an idea of what I'm experiencing, which just makes things a bit easier.

But he said that he won't call on me during class and if I ever have any questions, then I can just go talk to him in his office. He added that if I ever start to feel uncomfortable or claustrophobic, then I can just leave the room for how ever long I need to. My professor has even encouraged me to swing by his office whenever I need/want to.

What's really comforting about him is that he doesn't see me as a mere student. He sees me as a fellow human being and a friend. It's not the typical "Professor-student" relationship, where the student kind of feels inferior. I like not feeling inferior to him, and I'm glad that he also acknowledges that I'm not inferior and has even admitted that he hates being called "Dr. _____" because he says that it makes him feel superior, when he views himself on the same level as everyone else.