What would you do?

DX'd - Other
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I worked hard for a long time and worked at socializing and I did this until I finally have just made a few friends even.

I was doing so well and achieved that and now I’m not doing as well. I can’t trust anyone it seems. I get so distracted by the thoughts and voices put in my head. How can I focus on a conversation with anyone? And all of this is giving me bad anxiety too and I just want to hide.

I am especially nervous, I am supposed to see a friend tomorrow. I don’t want to. What would you do?

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The friend is real and deserves your attention. the voices and thoughts have no basis in reality and don’t deserve your attention. That’s the crux of the matter to me.

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A real friend will be understanding. I wouldn’t worry about it.

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The problem is that each time we dodge visiting someone because of our symptoms, we build/reinforce a bad habit that puts the illness in the driver’s seat. I see situations like this as an opportunity to push my SZ that much farther into a corner. I go out to visit, especially if I don’t feel like it - that means I need to.

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I land somewhere in the middle, if you can believe there’s a middle for this problem. It would be obvious to my friend that I was off and they would make inquiries, and I would just say hey, look, I’m having symptoms and I’m not at my best for socializing but I miss you and want to see you. Then maybe we could figure something out together like rescheduling or doing a quick 30 minute visit to hold us over for next time.

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I make myself go. And I always end up feeling better for it.

You cannot let voices or bad thoughts win. Forcing yourself to do things is how I got off APs.

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There’s always ups and downs with this illness. No state is ever definitive. Don’t catastrophize. Your progress is real and your friend is also real, whereas voices are not and your anxiety doesn’t define you.

If this friend knows about your illness, you may give them a phone call prior to the meetup and explain your worries to them. Your anxiety should lessen as a result.

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Thanks for weighing in everyone @shutterbug @anon4362788 @Andrey @devra @Leaf

I was just going to ignore my friend totally and not answer my phone nor see her today. But you guys have inspired me. I should get out of the house and out of my head. I don’t want to let the illness win. I am anxious but I can’t backtrack. Thank you so much! I will let you know how it all goes!

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