. Social Anxiety (My version) I am the small dark dude, faking a smile in the darkness. For me, - It is like this. Everything is too bright, too intense. Everyone around becomes too real and too fake at the same time. Then the hypervigilance kicks in. You try in vain to take in every little, small detail, all at once, and of course, it becomes overwhelming. Then the stupidest part happens You suddenly feel responsible for everyone's safety and go on some weird version of guard duty. (Which is idiotic because I am a just flabby 50-year-old) The best I can do is just get lost in the music and dance to distract myself Or let panic hit and head home to hide as quickly as possible. No one realises how hard it is to leave the flat, and then keep me out, sometimes. It is totally mental! It does not have to make sense, This is a mental illness. . . . .