It sounds like you have yourself in a bit of a double-bind there? You don't want to admit the things you are afraid of lest you feel childish about yourself but you do to yourself anyway? You know what they are.

What I found (I was treated for GAD too) is that what I imagined would happen, how it would be, it usually wasn't like that. Fear is about what is going to happen in the future and we don't know the future so it is actually just fantasy. If you are going to fantasize, why not do warm, sunny days on the beach rather than, "that's going to make me feel. . . " something negative?

So, you have, "I was afraid to talk to my relative when we went out." That's a very good, distinct "problem" description! Be proud of yourself for observing it and stating it so succinctly. What can you do about it next time?

Or, you wait and tell your T, "I was afraid to talk to my relative when we went out." Imagine your T saying something like, "Oh, I sometimes find it hard to talk to certain people too, what about this relative made it difficult for you do you think?" Nothing embarrassing there. Some people are harder to talk to than others for everyone. No one "likes" to ask a boss for a raise and this relative might remind you of a boss or teacher you had or might have criticized you in the past and you are afraid that will happen again, etc.

Make it a game. When you write, "I was afraid to talk to my relative when we went out" then write numbers 1., 2., and 3., underneath and try to find three "reasons" that could be. First, change "my relative" to the person's name, whatever you call them, "Martha" or "Aunt Martha" (my stepmother's good friend from before I knew them so I called her "aunt" as a child) and think specifically about your relationship.

1. She dresses funny and I'm embarrassed by it and wished I did not have to be there in the restaurant with her in public (my "aunt" Martha would wear white knee-socks in her 60's and 70's, with a pleated skirt, and fur jacket! I was a teenager and that definitely wasn't cool :-) so I tried to distract myself from having to be there, pretended I was not. If I had talked to her I would have had to be "present" with her.

2. Aunt Martha does not display consistent moods or behavior and I am a bit afraid of her, not knowing what to expect at any given time. If I don't say anything she cannot criticize or upset me as much.

3. I don't really know Aunt Martha that well and feel "alone" out with her. I feel like she is an adult and I'm a child and that if "something happens" I won't be able to take care of myself well, never mind her if someone picks a fight with her for some reason and she gets even more embarrassing.

The more you can write down and share with your T, the more you will know about yourself and how you view the world and think, etc. You have to know all that stuff before you can "look at it" and not just be generically afraid of everything that moves?