Self-awareness and anxiety

Post Reply New Topic

Do you find you get anxiety due to poor self awareness?

It do. This is why I like it if i can see my reflection. This is why I spent time staring into mirrors and place that have mirrors and reflective surfaces. It makes me feel more secure and improves my self awareness. It is not because I'm vain (my sister thinks I am ), it anything I look different each time I look into a mirror.

Yes...at least partially.
I can get a little anxious when there is not a mirror I can go to...
I used to often escape and calm myslef down by connecting with my reflection in a mirror.

Then again....It has been argued that I am TOO self aware....or people used to complain that I was too self-conscious....but maybe i am self-conscious because self-awareness is so difficult...

then I know alot of my anxiety also comes from sensory overload...reacting to loud sounds and people....and other stuff like that....

I know that I do get anxious due to poor self-awareness.
I'm not sure if this is the same thing as self-awareness...but sometimes I feel like i'm "not here" and need to look into a mirror to check if I am still in my body. Almost feel like I am dreaming at times...not sure if that has anything to do with self-awareness, though.

Not at all I get anxiety from oppressive people with power over me and abusing it on a regular bases, rotten nazi's.

i get anxiety because I am too self aware, a little bit of ignorance is pure bliss for me

I, uhm, think I'm the other way around.

I don't LIKE to be very self-aware. Sometimes I suddenly feel very aware of myself, and it feels really uncomfortable, I hate it.

I am too self-aware, albeit not emotionally. When I speak, I look at other's faces, I can't tell if it's a disgust or a sarcastic gesture to what I said so I shut down and not speak.

Because of this I thought I could keep my anxiety in control by studying how I appear. I would spend much of my day just looking at myself, noticing little peculiarities in the way I talk, gesture, stand. My family thinks I'm overly vain because of it, ha. Now, whenever I pass a mirror I have to stop and look at myself. I even give myself an assuring smile and nod.

How is this self aware? It sound like normal social anxiety. You are basing what you are like on someone else, albeit someone you can't read (or mind read).

That is what I'm saying, in this situation if I can see myself I feel more at ease. I can adjust the expression on my face, etc

Self consciousness and self awareness are different things. I can be self conscious but it is only partially based on reality.

This is me, too.

It doesn't seem to get any better with time. Worse, maybe. I'm beginning to think there's nothing I can do about it and I'm just destined to be anxious a good portion of the time.

Have you thought about CBT?

I am aware of my surroundings, but mirrors don't help my anxiety nor do people.


Self-awareness to me is understanding myself. Self-conscious is understanding and controlling my thoughts.

From wikipedia: Self-awareness is the explicit understanding that one exists.

Don't get me into the metaphysical definition of self-awareness.

Sorry I should have been more explicit.

Self awareness: awareness of you own actions/appearance externally particularly physical movement but not restricted to. So it is related to spatial awareness as well.

Martial arts has helped my spatial awareness and to some extent self awareness. It helps that there is a mirror I can look at for some of the exercises.

Self-consciousness: negative thoughts about yourself based on what you assume others will think of you.

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. I get lost easily, ha.


I am pretty much 75% aware of what I am doing and how I am appearing. I notice that my walk is abnormal so I try to correct myself. I notice that my speech is beginning to change in pitch so I constantly clear my throat.

I'm not aware of my peculiar gestures that I give though. I was always called "The Rock" for my raising eyebrow, and if someone says something strange I suddenly get this spastic look in my face. I become lost in my thoughts and I forget that I am either shaking my leg too much or tapping excessively.


Mirrors, ironically, will make me too self-conscious in public because then I'd be fixated on my appearance.


And yes, during martial arts, or any kind of work-out, a mirror, or another trained eye, is very much needed.

I used to stare alot into mirrors when I was a child, now I sort of dislike it

Thanks teenage self loathing :>

yes, i been spooked seeing my reflection sometimes. caught off guard near mirrors is a recipe for a heart attack,

Yeah I do this too, I feel more 'grounded' when I do this. Coincidentally through years of dancing and martial arts I've found myself in front of mirrors a lot of the time. I always feel like I was flying solo when I actually had to perform and there were no mirrors.