Any Extroverts here?

[iGrrr]

I know most people with SA are introverted (which is fine) but i was wondering if there was anyone here who actually loves socialising, traveling, going out and having fun and so on, but still has those feelings of anxiety and and wanting to avoid?

I have a good friend who is pretty social, and when we do go out, he always ends up chatting to people and making new friends, and me - i mostly stay quiet..... I get really depressed over this as i really wish i could be more like my friend.

Ive also started to avoid going out again due to fears of being too quiet and having nothing to say.... which i realise is making my problems worse

[margrtking]

I used to be like that, now im a recluse SADLY!

[ka]

I'm very extroverted, chatty, sociable, blah blah blah... but have really bad social anxiety and have started having panic attacks most days over the last couple of months. Being extroverted doesn't make it feel any better, unfortunately! It is weird that I am so extroverted though... I think I behave in a sociable / chatty way in order to cover up the fact that I'm feeling like rubbish underneath...if I chat, make people laugh etc, they won't see that I'm anxious... one of my big fears is other people seeing my anxiety.

[puglove]

I know im late in replying but thought I should. I am generally outgoing and chatty. I dont feel it but in that situation something just comes over me. Ive told my friends that deep down im shy and every one laughs it off. Ive never told anyone about my panics and worries. I read somewhere that adrenalin kicks in to get us through stuff. Plus I am a massive pretender in that I just whack a smile on for everything and "all is good". I`m starting to wonder which is more damaging!

[JohnBliss]

I'm exactly like ka -everyone thinks I'm so outgoing but I often experience anxiety before social situations-for me the worst thing is the thought of that "crowded room"
Regards
John

[robinbrum]

How I envy the "extroverts" in here but I fully understand the points that both John and Ka have made (the song "Tears Of A Clown" by Smokey Robinson springs to mind). I feel I have the opposite problem. There is an extrovert inside who wants to be heard and wants to be noticed. But socially I am very retarded and can not remember the last time I even went to a party.

[iGrrr]

Sometimes i wonder if i actually have Social Anxiety. I honestly think im just socially retarded.

While i do have anxiety most of the time while i dont join in a conversation is because i dont know what to say - either small talk or i may lack knowledge of the topic.

[tennishead]

I am an extreme extrovert. Extremely loud and has no problem talking to new people. HOwever, i am a complete wreck inside and i told somebody this the other day and they were completely surprised. FUnny that eh!!

[robinbrum]

Yes it is...can we swap places? or maybe just meet soemwhere in the middle?:)

[xhyperyogix]

I am stupidly extrovert on occasion, but inside sometimes i die too. But not right now pliippin thanks to whoever!!!!!!!!

Be yourself because thats the most beautiful person you'll be!!

Have a lovely xmas xxxxx

[.Poppy.]

I'm pretty introverted. If I want to go out, I can do so, but I don't often talk to other people an awful lot. I have SA to the extent that I think people are judging me just all the time, but if I have to, say, ask someone a question I'm *usually* not afraid to talk to them.

I have a friend who is even shyer than I am - she's pretty quiet and doesn't talk an awful lot - however, I think she's an extrovert on the inside or desperately wants to be. She tries so hard to talk to people but just can't always. It's a reason that she parties so much, because at parties she can drink and when she's drunk she's not afraid to talk to anyone, or make out with them, etc.

[Carys]

I am very extrovert, I actually love an audience to 'perform' to and make laugh or tell amusing stories with dramatic acting out (particularly at work). I have been described as 'larger than life' and 'out there'. I can talk to anyone in any context, I am loud, enthusiastic, appearing as if I have all the confidence in the world........but I have only been this way since I have felt mostly 'recovered' from HA in the last 14 years, before that I would rather have curled up sat in the house in fear. I still suffer occasional panic attacks and blips of HA concerns, but they are nothing more than a day every few months and don't stop me going anywhere I want on my own and doing anything I like (apart from flying, can't conquer that one!).

[robinbrum]

What makes an introvert an introvert and an extrovert an extrovert? Is it fear that makes me introverted or is just my nature? I feel I have an "inner extrovert"
(I would love to take to the stage and perform in front of an audience) but I am acutely self-conscious and often completely freeze up when there's a lot of people I don't know. I just slip back into the shadows, where it's more comfortable for an introvert to be.