I never used to be this anxious around people, but in my 40s, I started dreading social situations. I thought something was wrong with me—turns out, I just needed to understand myself better.
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I never used to be this anxious around people, but in my 40s, I started dreading social situations. I thought something was wrong with me—turns out, I just needed to understand myself better.
and then
I’m 45, and honestly, I started feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere. The noise, expectations, even small talk—it all became exhausting. I thought I was becoming antisocial, but really, I was just burnt out and afraid of judgment. It helped when I stopped pretending and gave myself permission to feel that way.