Dr. Micaela

So now, even if I was trying to like regulate, calm myself down, I have a new spike, right?

So let's pretend if we like make it, I'm gonna use my hands like a wave, right?

So, whoop.

someone giggled at me and I'm trying, trying, trying to regulate myself.

And then someone says, what's wrong with you?

So I got another spike and then I'm like nothing.

And I'm trying to calm myself down.

And then maybe I hear somebody else in the room who's not even looking at me laugh again.

And they're not even laughing at me.

But right now I'm so sensitized that my emotions are on hyper like threat alert.

And so it's going to ping my radar again.

OK, and then I finish my lunch hour, we go back to class or work or whatever, and I'm still quiet and shut down.

And now I hear my friends whispering or saying something like, God, I don't know what's wrong with her today.

And so you get this pattern of not only am I already like more emotionally vulnerable and emotionally reactive, but then I have these constant pings that are continuing to activate that emotional response.

And so I, now I'm getting a reputation as like, I'm so sensitive.

I'm such a cry baby.

Like,

You know, maybe we shouldn't hang out with her because I'm just going to hurt her feelings all the time.

And this can look in a lot of different ways, right?

So I'm giving an anxious example because our post is talking about social anxiety, but this can happen with all different flavors of emotions.