Anxious people can come across as rude or uptight. But in reality, they only have a hard time communicating with people and are always wondering if they said or did something wrong. Here are some things that anxious people will understand, since they’ve been in these situations often.
1. They struggle with small talk
Anxious people often seem to be rude, because they do not participate in conversation, especially in small talk. Actually, they do enjoy dialogue, but they prefer one on one conversations.
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2. They are constantly glued to their phone
Just to avoid eye contact or to prepare the perfect answer in their head, they look down at their phone. And of course, by the time they’ve formulated that perfect answer, the conversation has moved on and their answer is not relevant anymore.
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3. They observe the other’s body language closely
Because they are scarred of offending others, they observe their body language in the hope of discovering any signs of annoyance.
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4. They have nervous ticks
Because they feel embarrassed all the time, they play with the objects around them, with their hair or their clothes. This is how they try to calm themselves down.
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5. They are always planning their exit routes
When they enter a room, the first thing they do is taking a mental note of the exits, just in case. Don’t ask them: “in case of what?”, since for them, we all are a breath away from a catastrophe.
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6. They cancel plans a lot
Because they imagine every scenario where things go wrong, they end up exhausted and decide to stay in. Again, they are not trying to be rude, they are just afraid of being forced to socialize.
7. They seem cold and uptight
In their attempt to keep their cool, they come across as inflexible and blunt. The panic they feel is often given away by the fact that they sweat a lot or by their awkward smile.
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