Posted by ElectricTech on November 27, 2009, at 21:48:49
I'm 21, in college and I get extremely anxious when I'm in my larger lecture classes of 90 or 150 people. I have a really hard time looking towards the front of the room because I fear the possibility of making eye contact with people sitting in front of me. I'm so scared to face the front that I have to keep my head down and I can only see the board/projection screen by moving my eyes up! From there, I can only look for a few seconds and I look back down again. When a person in front of me turns at a 90 degree angle or makes any sudden movement, that's when it gets really bad and my shoulders and head get really tense and jittery. The entire time, I find it uncomfortable to sit in certain positions and I'm basically stuck in one position. I've never had a problem like this before now; this started in week 6 of this semester and it's week 14 now. This has become a major problem for me and it's getting in the way of taking notes!
In my larger classes, this is a huge problem, but it isn't an issue in my smaller classes of 20-30 people, where I'm pretty calm unless a good-looking girl sits in front of me.
Also, I get jumpy when I enter or leave a room or walk towards a corner and a person pops out in front of me unexpectedly, which has made me a bit apprehensive lately when I'm about to exit a room.
How would you explain all this? My anxiety issues arise in larger lecture halls; however, I'm fine when I walk around outside. There were also a few occasions where I felt awkward walking across the treadmill area of the gym, the library, and stores like Target. This all started when I was in class and a cute girl who was right in front of me looked back in my direction and I freaked out.
Should I see a psychiatrist? Winter break is also coming up, so maybe I just need a vacation?
poster:ElectricTech
thread:927227
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091127/msgs/927227.html