Oversharing Embarassment

I've always been an introvert and I have mild social anxiety (I would say I have a bit of EVERY form of anxiety)

BUT, as soon as I find someone I feel I can trust I start oversharing. It's like I don't realize what I'm doing and I can't stop talking, and immediately regret it seconds after. It's awkward, and every time it happens I promise myself I'll pay more attention next time.

Right now I'm feeling so embarrassed because I shared a bit too much personal/work informations with a guy in my office. I'm not even sure he cares that much! he's always friendly but I suppose he will soon start avoiding me because of this
Gosh. I'm so embarrassed

Hello Sky_: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! May the time you spend here be of benefit.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!

Hello, sky! I sometimes have a problem with oversharing, too. For me, it is generally a sign of anxiety. When I feel anxious or afraid, I tend to become aggressive in one way or another. I wonder if maybe anxiety about talking to someone, or relating to someone maybe makes you a little 'aggressive' and causes the oversharing?

I find I do so too - as if to excuse my embarrassment before I do something odd.

from a personal level, I don't really do this (likes, interests, where I live)

the problem arises when it comes to talking about my mental health

so many times I end up talking to someone I don't know about either my abuse history, or my diagnoses

and yes it is embarrassing

from a personal level, I guess I don't really have too much to share

professional coutch potato from day 1

Perhaps you can start take notice of every time you start oversharing? Maybe write it down somewhere? I'm not sure :/

I find it just sort of falls out with no control.

I know the feeling....for me I think it is almost a release for anxiety, a kind of hypomanic state in which I feel fine while I am yammering on but when it stops....
even worse when someone points it out. It does take on a life of its own when it happens.

In reaction, I become more quiet, withdrawn, and maybe being too alone contributes to this. (when I was young and hanging out with friends i don't recall this happening...and for years in my early adulthood....)

I feel that way a lot too. I'm not sure how much you shared but do you think that maybe your perception of over sharing might be different from others? I have a social anxiety as well and every time I talk about something personal to someone I feel like I said too much and nobody is interested and it bothers me for a while but then people tell me a lot that they don't know much about me so maybe it just feels that way for me. Just a thought, your case might be different

Yes, that could apply to me too. my problem is I'm not really sure what most people would consider appropriate in each social context.
I'm not able to keep relationship at "small talk level".
My small talk often leads to excessive exposure actually but I agree that it could just be my wrong perception

I wasn't saying it was a wrong perception , maybe you're just not used to share a lot. From what you said it seemed a lot like me so was just assuming. i soo don't like small talks, i am weird and quiet so when I do talk to people I don't like to waste my words on nothing and I might say things I didn't really wanted them to know. So when I share I tend to feel horrible but then I remember things other people share with random people that I wouldn't even with people close to me. I'm thinking that maybe we have a hard time opening up and are keeping it all in, but then the time comes when we just need to get it out and we might not have the right person and end up exposing excessively to someone who we later doesn't really want to know. I don't know, maybe that's how you're supposed to be connected I'm just really bad at that, talking to people, even online ... I guess I just shared to much

I don't have a lot of people to share things with, so I tend to get excited and tell too much. I did that to one of my former colleagues recently. I need to work on this as well.

I do the same thing! So don't be embarrassed because your perception of what took place is probably so different than his. He probably just thinks you're really friendly. Try not to be so hard on yourself for this behavior either. Trust me, this is something I have slowly been trying to change about myself ever since I was a little girl. I feel like its hard to change because its a natural overcompensation for people with social anxiety. But seriously, he probably thinks nothing of it. So no worries!

My most painful experiences involve feelings of alienation and disconnection. So sometimes I find relief from these underlying feelings by confiding all sorts of things in people I don't know well / have reason to trust. Sharing relatively intimate things about myself leads to feeling of connection. Connection - even if illusionary, relieves the anxiety of aloneness. This, in the short or long term leads to regret because all sorts of people - some not ultimately not well/disposed towards me, know a lot of sensitive info about me. This makes me vulnerable, and evokes shame...