If you have social anxiety you know that just doing life can easily become overwhelming, igniting the desire to quickly retreat to find solace in being alone. It can be difficult to explain to others how you’re feeling and why you feel that way if they do not understand what normal situations seem like from your perspective. As a fellow socially anxious person myself, I found that "The Office" could accurately describe a lot of my emotions toward overwhelming situations that, to others, would be completely normal and even comfortable. Here are just some examples of how normal situations appear to those suffering from social anxiety:

It is always a daunting task to figure out how to do “small talk,” so when you are merely walking along, minding your own business, and you see an acquaintance of yours, your first reaction is to avoid the situation. You are secretly hoping they do not notice you so that you do not have to exert the effort that it takes to think of something to say. However, if they do not seem to notice you, you wonder if they actually did notice you but expected you to say something first, and are now upset because you did not. Oh, the anxiety…

2. When your friends suggest going to a social gathering:

You are always hoping that the friends you hang out with will not suggest going places that require much socializing on your part, but when they do, panic immediately sets in. You realize you will have to use all of your energy to function like a normal human being when someone suggests going to social events (i.e. parties, the club, reunions, etc.), so the moment someone opens their mouth to propose such a thing, you are desperately wanting to shut the idea down before it becomes a reality.

3. When you have to meet with someone rather than texting or emailing:

There are so many more aspects involved when in-person socializing happens, and therefore, it becomes significantly harder to do. Unfortunately, there are some times that this cannot be avoided. So, when you are forced to leave your comfort zone and your socializing skills are put to the test, it is like pulling teeth.

4. Flirting:

Unfortunately, because you can never say the right thing to entice someone, it always comes out awkwardly. A lot of the time, you have so many thoughts going through your head that it can be difficult to collect those thoughts into something suave enough to be considered flirting. No matter how confident you may try to seem, sometimes the one thing you did not mean to say is what ends up being said. Sigh.

5. When you have been at a party for more than 30 minutes:

You may have thought you could handle it, but you will quickly find out that you just can’t. After more than a half hour, you are wishing that you had either never came or that you could leave and no one would notice.

6. When someone tells you to "get involved" in your community:

Same.

7. Having to make your own appointments:

This might not seem like a huge deal to some, but to those with social anxiety, it is one of the most stressful things that you have to do. Although it only takes minutes, those couple of minutes can be the most exhausting.

8. When someone gives you a compliment:

Responding to anything is already a tough enough task to accomplish with social anxiety, but it becomes even more difficult when the response is to a compliment. How do you know what face to make and words to say, and do you return the favor by complimenting them back? All these thoughts running through your head cause the whole situation to just end awkwardly, most of the time.

Hopefully, this will help those of you not struggling with social anxiety understand those of us who are. Please remember that everyone is different, and sometimes, tasks that seem very mundane to you can be overwhelming and exhausting to others, so respect those different perspectives to show consideration and love to those with social anxiety.