[atomicc]

I know this isn't a thing but I was wondering people's opinion on this. I have social anxiey, that is a definite. I don't know if I'd call myself claustrophobic because I don't really put myself in small spaces.
When I am around a lot of people I start to become very uncomfortable. I'm anxious at the idea of having to relate or talk to other people but that's not a factor here. Just the thought of people around me makes me anxious.
Everything get's really loud for me. I start to squirm. If someone bumps into me I feel physical pain inside me. I become hyper vigilant.
I just don't like to be around people, like at all. My father says he's the same way. We're misanthropes he says. Does anyone else feel this way around people?
I'm not sure if it's my social anxiety or some form of claustrophobia?

[vans1974]

Originally Posted by atomicc

I know this isn't a thing but I was wondering people's opinion on this. I have social anxiey, that is a definite. I don't know if I'd call myself claustrophobic because I don't really put myself in small spaces.
When I am around a lot of people I start to become very uncomfortable. I'm anxious at the idea of having to relate or talk to other people but that's not a factor here. Just the thought of people around me makes me anxious.
Everything get's really loud for me. I start to squirm. If someone bumps into me I feel physical pain inside me. I become hyper vigilant.
I just don't like to be around people, like at all. My father says he's the same way. We're misanthropes he says. Does anyone else feel this way around people?
I'm not sure if it's my social anxiety or some form of claustrophobia?

Hey Allie- So sorry to hear!! I used to be very social, but now I feel that same way! I'd say that's a great way to desribe it...social claustrophobia!

[atomicc]

Does anyone else have any insight on this? It'd be very appreciated!

[Teddy:)]

I feel the same way. I often feel an ackwardness when around too many people, I seem to loose all train of thought and find it very difficult to make conversations, I am too preoccupied on different things, such as what they think of me, why a they looking at me the way they are and how am I going to get out of this situation.

As for claustrophobia I do believe that there is a link between claustrophobia and social anxiety. I think many people believe that claustrophobia is purely a fear of small spaces, such as lifts, caves and small rooms, but they forget about the situation like talking to people and feeling as though you are suffocating in a situation that doesn't have to be physically confined but internally confining.
I was looking online and found this info about how there is in fact a link between the two.

"Causes of Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is actually generally considered a symptom of anxiety, rather than its own anxiety disorder. This is likely because most people that develop claustrophobia already have at least some type of mild anxiety. Take my anxiety test to find out more about your anxiety.

This makes some sense too because several disorders seem to be affected by or play a role in claustrophobia:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder – It seems that generalized anxiety disorder seems to play a role in the development of claustrophobia. Most likely there is some correlation between what led to a person developing the condition and what leads to the development of anxiety
Panic Disorder – When someone is in an enclosed space, they become more likely to suffer from a severe panic attack. Chances are that the individual was at greater risk of panic attacks or panic disorder, which means that they already showed at the very least a genetic pre-disposition tot the condition.
Social Phobia – Those with social phobia often experience a feeling of needing to escape as part of the condition, although generally it's not limited to enclosed spaces. It's possible that some of this fear ends up tangentially passing over to the way they feel in any small space."

Hopefully this is helpful in someway

[atomicc]

Thank you so much, that was very helpful!

[comeintothehole]

I felt extremely distressed just reading this. It's very difficult for me to think about the idea of ​​being locked away somewhere with people and I have to stay attentive 24/7 so I do not even leave the house. I feel that there is something beyond anxiety and I like to call it social claustrophobia. When I find myself in situations where I have to face this kind of thing, I soon find myself losing my head and the fine line between sanity and insanity. I feel like I'm not too far from the last option.
I often find myself so nervous around people that it is so common for me to lose my line of reasoning in the middle of speech, or else to forget words, memories. Sometimes I just say to the person, "Hey, I have something to tell you." and I forget. It's really quite embarrassing. I feel ridiculous. Over time I have forgotten so much and today my memory is so bad.
All I wanted was not having to go through all this.