When some people walk into a busy mall, they feed off other people’s energy. They see a huge crowd and feel some sort of excitement and connection with the people around them. When some people go to concerts, they love disappearing and weaving in and out of walls of people. Crowds are an unavoidable part of life, but that does not mean I have to like it. I pretty much hate being in large groups of people.
With a boyfriend who loves social environments, I am constantly surrounded by crowds of people. The problem is that I am very much an introvert. When I am around large groups of people my energy drains fast. I start to get sweaty, irritable and very uncomfortable. It is not a pretty sight. Sometimes I cannot even hear my own thoughts and cannot make out a coherent sentence.
This may sound strange to some people, but I am not the only one who feels this way. There is even a technical name for this — its called enochlophobia. This phobia is described as having a fear of being in a crowd, a type of social phobia that affects introverted women the most. When someone with this fear enters a mob of people or even a large room of people, they might feel like they can't breathe, their stomach may start to hurt, they might start shaking, sweating and their heart may start to race. One symptom is even not being able to think clearly.
One stereotype of college students is their incessant love of partying. I’m here to tell you there are some people out there who suffer from some form of this type of anxiety. Whether the anxiety is mild — like mine — or incredibly severe, there is nothing wrong with having a fear but you should not let it control your life. Stepping outside your comfort zone little by little will make it easier to minimize the fear.
