What if it's Scitzphrenia and not social anxiety?

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With my strong assumptions that people are constantly staring and laughing at me every time I'm in public places, I always thought it was social phobia/anxiety. But what if I am a paranoid Schizophrenic instead? I can't seem to change my mindset into knowing that I am not the center of the universe and that most people probably don't even notice me. But I constantly think that I am the center of the universe. I think that everybody's watching me, laughing at me, observing everything I do, and judging me.

Schizophrenia frightens me. I've always believed that Schizophrenia is a demon possessing you. I don't have actual voices in my head, but I do feel conditioned to think "they are all laughing at me, they are all talking about me, they all think I am a freak and I shouldn't be out".

Schizophrenia? Or just social phobia?

I don't think that's quite severe enough to be schizophrenia. You may have some problems with paranoia, though.

If you were bullied as a child, then you might have early on gotten the general impression that everybody is staring at you and laughing at you. Furthermore, there was no obvious reason why, so it would make sense to conclude that there is something bizarre about your outward appearance that would inspire total strangers to do that.

In fact, I can remember a couple of times in my early teens when total strangers my own age approached me and communicated to me that they knew me by reputation (apparently my "fame" as a weirdo had spread beyond my immediate neighborhood). In one case, it was two or three young men who first identified me by name and then one slugged me. Another time, a slightly younger boy approached me and asked me directly if I was "that kid who wore the black horn-rim glasses".

In general, you should practice a certain degree of mindfulness in telling yourself that these people are strangers and that there's nothing about your appearance that should cause them to mock you.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't talk about it on your next visit to a therapist.

What you describe sounds fairly typical in my opinion. Bad experiences just amplify these negative assumptions.

It's the same phenomenon reversed as in the case of famous people, who based on the received, but very untrue feedback, begin to believe that they genuinely are extraordinary people with the properties and rights of God. Wherever they go, they'll assume people are interested in them.

Similarly people who get negative feedback start to add those similarly untrue characteristics into their perceived self-image and as parts of the self-image they steer the way the person interprets the world.

A person bit by a dog, will all likely fear dogs at least awhile. Still most dogs aren't dangerous and the person very well knows it.

I have similar feelings regarding other people usually after I have been treated badly by them. Likewise if someone has been kind and nice to me, I feel better about people in general. It just shows what an influence we have on others.

Well since the age of 11 I have had harrassment more so from kids I didn't know. Then from about 19 I have experienced strangers staring and even laughing at me. Then after that I have had paranoia, and although I haven't actually caught anyone being mean for a few years now, I am still paranoid of strangers. I don't feel this self-conscious at work or other places where I am familiar with people, but in public I do.

So hopefully the paranoia is from the bad experiences I've had with strangers.

People are looking at you because you are looking at them to see if they are looking at you. If you stop checking who is looking at you, nobody will be looking at you. I've seen this before, with my aunt. She stopped and so did the others.

Schizophrenia is more than delusions. There is thought disorder and negative symptoms like flat affect, social withdrawal, loss of interest in personal care and extreme lack of motivation, and loss of interest in activities.

What you seem to be describing is social anxiety and some PTSD.

I used to feel very conspicuous and felt like people were always staring at me. I have since had years of cognitive therapy to treat my anxiety and I don't feel like that any more.

I also used to wonder if I was schizophrenic because if there was white noise like radio static I could hear voices. I now believe that is just my brain using built-in audio patterns to try to make sense of the white noise.

I have been diagnosed with AS and social anxiety, but not schizophrenia.

I would say: a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.

To me you sound absolutely sane.

Actually I consciously avoid eye contact with strangers. I usually make sure I am looking ahead or I get my phone out and look distracted. But I can see people gawping in my periphery, and I have good periphery vision.

But it's not just about that. I am so frightened of any kind of embarrassment, even silly, minor things like tripping up. This morning I was walking to work and my shoe kind of gripped on to the ground, causing me to almost trip. I knew it was probably unnoticeable, but something in my head told me that everyone in the cars that were going by at the time all saw it and were laughing.
Also I often think I am just watched all the time by people. Like the other day I was crossing the road, and there was a car coming right in the distance, but it was nowhere near enough for me to need to wait, so I knew I wasn't a hazard. But when I got to the other side, the car still speeded up as it went past me, like it was deliberate, and I worried in case it was trying to show me up and making others think that I am some sort of jaywalker, and then I worried in case it worked making everybody around stare at me thinking, ''idiot!'' I often find drivers on the road a bit scary, because a lot seem aggressive and they think they have the right of way over pedestrians. Other times I feel that I am unimportant. Like if I am crossing a road at one of those crossings where cars have to stop if you are standing at one, and a car doesn't stop and wait like they should, I think, ''what if that car-driver didn't want to stop because I look hateful? What if they might have stopped for anyone else, but because it's me, they think I don't matter?'' And then I think that everyone else saw and are agreeing with that car-driver and thinking, ''ha, yeah, who cares about that stupid girl?''

It's just what I think strangers think of me

@ OP

As a general rule at the very least Schizophrenics hear voices/have auditory hallucinations so whether paranoid or not, even whether delusional or not (delusions aren't the same as hallucinations of course)--I'd say you don't have schizophrenia unless you hear voices.

And that's not like as in once or twice in a life time. I've heard a voice like 2-3 times in my life... but that's nothing schizophrenics regularly hear voices or at least when at their most symptomatic, as far as I know.

Even completely healthy people can sometimes, for example, think they have heard someone call their name and it wasn't that they misheard someone because no one was there at all or calling anyone's name at all... but for most people (for non-schizophrenics) that a few times in one's life is about the extent to auditory hallucinations.

Unless you're hearing voices at least when at your most mentally unhealthy you're not schizophrenic. That's what I say anyways.

What you describe is paranoia, not necessarily social anxiety.

It might help if you actually looked at people as you walk past them if you hear them laughing or think they are staring. I say this because I often experience the same paranoia: of assuming that any group of people who burst into laughter in the street must be laughing at me. But on the rare occasions that I actually feel brave enough to look across at the people to check whether my suspicions are true (as opposed to looking away / slinking past and staring at the ground in fear) I usually find that the group of people are not looking at me at all, and are clearly laughing at something else and probably haven't even noticed me due to being so absorbed in their own conversation.

It is usually purely coincidental that sometimes people happen to start laughing when you walk past. But if you have been very bullied in the past, your mind will automatically jump to conclusions and you will assume that the people are laughing at you.

Here's a good book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-Par ... 1845292197

I bought it, but then I hardly read any of it. I lack the mental energy or motivation. But others might find it a helpful book. Hence why I am mentioning it.

Schizophrenia usually doesn't show up until early adulthood, while social anxiety shows up early in life.

It is much easier to identify autism earlier in life when it can't be confused with the mental illnesses that show up later in life.

I am extremely socially anxious but I'm the least socially phobic person you'll ever meet. I'm anxious to please people and to be liked but I'm not phobic because I'm not remotely avoidant. I am however very careful in the way I socialize with others, I always make sure I am not bothering anyone or anything -- or try to-- and i often ask them that.

I am very socially awkward but I don't avoid socializing.

I don't get out the house really besides shopping I spend all my time indoors so in that sense I am very introverted.

But I'm the most extroverted person I've ever ever known in the sense that people always always always energize me socially and never exhaust me. It's like I need constant [online in my case] social stimulation in order to avoid being exhausted and tired. Others never exhaust me and try very hard to make sure I am not exhausting others which is a way I am socially awkward.

Anyways, my question is, to the person above: With regards to the OP who we are trying to help would you say that social anxiety is different to social phobia? because I definitely definitely distinguish between the two (as explained) I very very much have the former but don't remotely have the latter.