What is it like living with anxiety? I don't know how to help!

It varies a lot from person to person, of course. If I had to describe the sensation, it's very much like when you do something embarrassing and you have that thought of "that was stupid of me", but it's supposed to pass after a bit and you'll get more comfortable. Social anxiety can be like hanging on to that feeling for a much longer time, then it causes you to make more mistakes, and you can't stop thinking about those... if you're not having a great time controlling it, it can get out of hand pretty fast. It can also mean that you start anticipating these mistakes, and that can make you nervous, and it can be the overwhelming feeling of imagining everything that might possibly go wrong, and being incapable of thinking of anything else.

It was probably a big deal for him to talk about, so make it clear that your willing to listen. When he's having a really hard time handling everything, don't make him feel like he needs to hide it. If he's particularly hung up on something that happened, or something he's been worried about, you can try to provide distraction if you don't think focusing on it any longer is helpful.

You're not going to fix the problem, but you can make things more comfortable as they work themselves out. It's great that you want to understand and help, and I think it's the best attitude to take.

 

It really depends on the person. It would be more helpful to just ask him, cause like i said its unique to the individual. With me, i either get a straight up panic attack or i'm just socially anxious. Like i'll worry over if what i just said came out sounding this way or that way or what they're thinking or oh maybe i should have said this instead. Basically dissect every situation i'm in. If i have to present something or go to an appointment i have to plan out what i'm saying first and i still get nervous and stumble through it. But that's just me. I'm not sure what his grandmother being in the hospital has to do with social anxiety either tbh...like is it just social anxiety, or like generalized anxiety disorder type shit? Cause with me its morelike generalized anxiety with a strong social element. I don't get panic attacks often but they're horrible to deal with. With a panic attack the body is essentially activating its instinctual 'fight or flight' response for danger when its not needed.