The dread of going places.

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How do you all handle the dread of having to go places and interact with people?

I'm not afraid to I just dread it. Sometimes once I'm out and going through the motions it gets to be ok. It's the transition. I'm just so tired of forcing myself. I feel like I need a break. Like stop the world and stay put for a while. alone with no crappy distractions with all of my current food jag supplies.

The silly part is that sometimes I don't enjoy today because I have to go out tomorrow. That is wasting today and I know it but I can't seem to stop myself.

Anyone else feeling this way?

It turned out that I couldn't handle it. Hell is other people, to paraphrase Sartre. Now I only have to leave the house once a week in order to stock up on groceries, so I guess I've got my break. The problem is that this break will last for the rest of my life, and that's just as unbearable. Hello cabin fever.

yes, going places is often a very anxious task
esp' if it's somewhere new or where i'm uncertain what will happen or with people i'm not wholly comfortable with. It's usually not half as bad as anticipated, but that doesn't stop me worrying

I still haven't figured out the secret to this but just wanted to say I understand where you are coming from. I hope it gets better for both of us.

I spent more and more time avoiding going out thinking I'll give myself a break but it gets worse and now I haven't left my home in years. Unfortunately I don't think that dread will ever go away and you HAVE to force yourself because in my opinion it is better than the alternative.

I often feel exactly the same way. I have all of my outings planned far in advance, and I always, for example, go grocery shopping at the same time in the same way every week. This helps manage my anxiety somewhat, but in the case of outings where I know unpredictable social interaction will be happening - at my job, for instance - the feeling of dread borders on a 'fight or flight response' level of anxiety. Like you, I often 'waste' my Sundays worrying about my Mondays, and my Saturdays worrying about my Sundays, and so on. It's been this way since I was a child.