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Terrified of people thinking I am a bad or mean person

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I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I know how horrible it feels like. I too am very scared that people will become angry at me because they think I am a bad person.

Some days ago I got triggered by the facial expressions of my therapist because my anxious brain interpreted them the wrong way. I assumed she was angry at me because she thought I was being selfish and mean. Which wasn't true at all according to her. I got so dysregulated that I couldn't hide it anymore, and so we talked about it.
She also told me that I will have to learn how to cope with people actually being angry at me because they think I am a bad person. We don't have any control over what other people think unfortunately.

In my case, this anxiety also stems from an abusive childhood. It really sucks. But as @Teasel said, it can get better. As soon as we are able to challenge our core beliefs and our cognitive distortions, we will heal❤
 
I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I know how horrible it feels like. I too am very scared that people will become angry at me because they think I am a bad person.

Some days ago I got triggered by the facial expressions of my therapist because my anxious brain interpreted them the wrong way. I assumed she was angry at me because she thought I was being selfish and mean. Which wasn't true at all according to her. I got so dysregulated that I couldn't hide it anymore, and so we talked about it.
She also told me that I will have to learn how to cope with people actually being angry at me because they think I am a bad person. We don't have any control over what other people think unfortunately.

In my case, this anxiety also stems from an abusive childhood. It really sucks. But as @Teasel said, it can get better. As soon as we are able to challenge our core beliefs and our cognitive distortions, we will heal❤

Yeah, I also overly interpret people’s facial expressions and movements/what they say because of this. I might sometimes tell my friends I felt like someone didn’t like me , and often they will not even know what the heck I am talking about, they hadn’t noticed anything like that. I think for me changing these core beliefs will be one of the main things I have to focus on in therapy too. Thank you for telling me this, it made me feel less alone in this. Hope things will improve for you❤️
 
I also overly interpret people’s facial expressions and movements/what they say because of this. I might sometimes tell my friends I felt like someone didn’t like me , and often they will not even know what the heck I am talking about, they hadn’t noticed anything like that.
Just to say I relate to this so much. :hug:
A course of CBT was helpful for it. - was diagnosed with social anxiety, have you looked it up? I know how difficult it is, well wishes to you :)
 
Just to say I relate to this so much. :hug:
A course of CBT was helpful for it. - was diagnosed with social anxiety, have you looked it up? I know how difficult it is, well wishes to you :)
I have anxiety, not specifically social anxiety diagnosed yet, but I always score high on the anxiety tests. I’m going to continue therapy and will hopefully learn more about it.? Thank you, all the best to you as well❤️
 
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