Dr. Micaela

So next question, why do I feel fake when I talk to people?

Whenever I talk to people I'm not very close with, I just feel so fake and bland.

It's like I'm physically unable to be myself.

I think I have a hard time being myself because myself isn't really the type of person that would be outgoing and talk to people.

Yes.

Okay.

So this goes along with basically, I don't know, like 75% of the things that I've been talking about since I started.

And that is, there is such a pressure to perform or to conform that it can be really easy to feel fake

90% of the time, right?

Like if you only talk about the weather, like really talk about the weather with like a small group of people on Reddit, then you're going to feel pretty fake in every other aspect of your life.

And it doesn't have to be around like a specific special interest that we have.

But basically, and this, the OP here is saying, I'm just not really the type of person who talks to people.

That is totally okay.

I am here to let everybody know that you are actually allowed to just not be a person who talks to people.

So if that's your vibe, look at the floor and keep your headphones in and keep your hood up.

Now, if you're feeling lonely or if you have a job that like mandates networking or some other types of dreadful social interaction, then you are going to have to do some of these things.

And so, so step one,

you do you okay and if you can't do you um then kind of what is the most you that you could be when you have to be a little bit fake or when you have to mask or when you have to hide some of your idiosyncrasies or whatever um oh try to come up with an example about how to do this um

Okay, so I'm a grown-up, if you couldn't tell.

I know sometimes it's a little alarming.