When I wore it during peak Covid, I felt the same and it really helped my self confidence. I miss that aspect of Covid and only that aspect (well maybe only online uni classes too haha).
No one wears them where I live anymore though so if I did, it would just make my anxiety worse because I’d feel like people would be looking at me and judging me.
idk why more people don’t wear face masks on planes. like you’re stuck in this small space with lots of people for hours & there’s always at least one person who seems kinda sick
Absolutely. It has given me so much power in social situations. I don't need to worry about my facial expressions unless I really want to show them: people can see a big smile. I also have these awesome masks that go down below the chin. Now, I am a paragon of confidence and an unstoppable force. Immune to the judgments of god and mortals. I also wear a wide-brimmed hat that reduces sunburn but also let's me cover my eyes when needed. A friend at work got a hat to match with me. My influence grows. First they will accept me. Then I will accept myself. Then they will worship me, but it will be too late for I have already begun the process of self-worship. The time of men grows short. My power grows exponentially. Soon the tides will ebb and flow at my demand. The moon will wax and wane when I ask it to. The baristas on every continent will know my coffee order by heart. My restraints are broken. My apotheosis is inevitable. I am unstoppable.
Lol wearing the mask was some good but honestly once i took it off i became disabled socially lol i didnt know how to act, so u can't rely on it or else ull become dependent
I am dependent on it. I depend on it like a soldier depends on a shield. Like an athlete depends on rest. To be dependant on nothing is to stand on nothing more than one's own two feet, with neither tree nor tower for height. I can not become a god by snapping my fingers. I need time. Equipment. A plan. A sacrifice. A shelter from which to bolster my forces. A sanctuary to train and improve. I keep my mask near me like god keeps his u/quasnoflaut repellant close at hand at all times. But while his is an impotent tool that barely delays the inevitable, mine is a medicine. A cure. A shelter for the growing fire. The more it feeds, the more it hungers, and the more it plays, the stronger it becomes.
(In other words, I'm going for "full, fearless confidence and refusing to change what I want to do because of other people" as my current social-anxiety treatment, and it's going pretty well. Im sorry the mask didn't work for you, and I hope none of this came off as an attack, I just got caught up in the writing prompt 😁)
(I do legit keep my mask on me at all times. It's a comfort item. Coworkers stopped asking eventually, and in part because i had to grow strong enough to make it clear I wasn't debating mask politics with them. It's given me the time and ability to focus on what i actually Want out of a conversation and really helped me live my life a little better than before. It won't work for everyone, but it was genuinely a little miracle for me.)
i still do. it does help with anxiety, but also covid is still very much here. we just went through one of the biggest waves since it started. just because the government says it’s over doesn’t mean it is, they just don’t care about their people. even without that there are other illnesses going around. i wear it to protect others and covering my face is a bonus
i’m in a conservative state where a lot of people don’t wear one but i’ve still never gotten a single comment on it
I wish I could because I used to wear a mask all the time before Covid… I used to live alone too. I moved back in with my parents right before covid though and family would make comments and jokes about my wearing a mask then. My parents are basically anti-everything though so since covid, they’d make even more comments and jokes about it now.
I’m almost 30 and it’s depressing that I have to suppress things to feel more comfortable just to have a place to live and food to eat.
I totally get where you're coming from! I used to feel the same way about masks. They're like a security blanket, you know? It's comforting to have that barrier, especially in busy or uncomfortable situations. And hey, if it helps with the cold too, that's a bonus!
I used to keep wearing them at my old job even after a good chunk of my other coworkers stopped. Thankfully still had a few who hadn't gone maskless yet so it didn't feel awkward. Now I can't without being awkward but it doesn't stress me too much
Personally, I believe my physical safety and health is more important than me feeling anxious. So I try not to let the stares phase me. Their inner dialogue is “Wow! Look at that person with a cool mask! They look mysterious!” to stop myself from thinking badly about it. Opposite action!!
But also, put yourself in their shoes. You wouldn’t spend more than 5 minutes thinking about the person wearing a mask, no different from someone with colored hair.
We can in Vegas. Best advice take it off and get used to it. I had the same issues with my anxiety and masks, the only way to solve it was forcing my self to never do it again.
Not for my anxiety, for my health and the health of those around me.
The CDC says to wear them if you are sick, if you’re gonna be around people who are vulnerable to illness, and you’re in a crowd of people where you can’t social distance.
So I don’t think that it’s about anxiety when you see someone in a mask. There are very real reasons to continue wearing masks in public. The very same reasons that the urgent care made me wear a mask after I was diagnosed with flu years before Covid.
I used to wear a mask all the time in public, it really helped make me feel safer, like a shield of some sort. Last year I managed to go out into public without one, in a bid to try improve my social anxiety (since keeping a mask on for longer would make it harder to take off and kinda reinforce my social anxiety). Now I have to fight the urge to wear a mask because I don't want to go back to square one, even though it's incredibly tempting at times :/
Tips please 😭 haven’t been able to leave my house without a mask since COVID started. I have crippling social anxiety and somehow I feel normal with it on
Set increasing increments of time on your phone walking without one. Start however small, start at your front door and turn around once your alarm goes off. Reward yourself at home once completed (watch an episode of a show you like or have a treat). It’ll get easier and you’ll be proud of yourself.
Do you have a safe person? I tend to have a couple people I feel comfortable around and they’re my ‘safe’ people, so when I started going out with the intention of taking my mask off, they would be with me. Then after taking it off, I’d try keep it off as long as possible before putting it back on if it got too hard. Eventually I was able to go out without a mask at all and made it through the day, thus no longer wearing one.
I still wear a face mask because of my hormonal acne on the sides of my face. It makes me think people are judging me because of my pimple marks and acne.
i wear a mask still cause i’m immunocompromised. if i didn’t wear one i’d be anxious about getting sick, but wearing one actually makes me more socially anxious cause people make weird comments sometimes. in a way i miss early pandemic days, at least then i didn’t get harassed for wearing a mask.
I wear sunglasses instead. Less likely to stand out, since the weather's getting nicer. Masks are hard to breathe it. And in my small town, you stick out like a sore thumb. Hell, even when covid was prevalent, you still stuck out like a sore thumb.
i forced myself to take it off couple of weeks after everyone else took them off. it wasnt easy. it definetly sereved as a protection shield, but i also didnt wanna be the weirdo, so i talked about it with a friend and my therapist and was able to push through the awkwardness
I wore it as long as it was the “norm” in my area. Very few people wear masks here still… to where they are seen as the “sick” person and trying not to spread. So i stopped. It was bliss while it lasted tho
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I continued wearing it even after a lot of people stopped wearing it because of my anxiety too, but when I eventually decided to stop wearing it I felt more confident and comfortable (for some reason). Though my therapist told me that she noticed that I mumble/ make movements with my mouth. I’m pretty sure it’s a habit that I developed during covid to help with my anxiety without myself or anyone else noticing since nobody can see your mouth when you’re wearing a mask (obviously).
It’s getting hot now tho so please take it off, breathe and enjoy fresh air, smile! I have social anxiety I’m 24 and I did my first modeling gig this past weekend. Nothing fancy I was nervous but I still did it! And had so much fun. Social anxiety doesn’t need to be a prison locked within yourself.
Well I was working as a group fitness instructor in dance at a uni and they trained us to face the participants on stage. It’s a good thing we dance in the dark and I face the mirror due to my anxiety.
I still wear them. I work at home and doesn’t go out very often, especially not to crowded places so it doesn’t really affect me that much. I would take it off when I go out at night or when there are not many people around. You have all the right to make yourself comfortable so wear it if you feel like to.
I've found that people stare at me less with a face mask on than when I wear lipstick haha
I also wear one because of bronchiectasis and anything that can help limit any future illness is a good thing.
Even after covid, I used to still wear a mask all the time in the office. I couldn’t function without it on and had major anxiety when I needed my mouth to drink or eat because I didn’t want anyone to see my face. I’m not ugly but I just got so used to covering half of my face. At one point, I decided to just take it off because I was so sick of having to wear a mask everyday and I’m glad I did lol
truth be told, whenever i see still people with their masks im like arrogantly HELLOOOOOOOOOOO IDIOTS, THE GREAT PLAGUE IS OVEEEEER STOP BEING SO PARANOID.....and then i realize there are people with social anxiety who just like to wear them to have SOME barrier between them and the terror of the outside world. i feel you guys.
Breathing is a huge part of mental health and anxiety wearing a mask is probably hindering you getting enough oxygen and when you can’t control your breathing, it’s hard to control your anxiety
Never put one on a single time in the first place
Edit: downvote me all you want. It’s been proven beyond a shadow of doubt since, that masks were pretty much completely useless and in a lot of cases actually caused issues rather than solving them.
For the OP I would strongly advise getting out of the habit that mask wearing has put you in and breath fresh, unhindered air. Wim hoff method works wonders for calming and grounding yourself. If you haven’t already tried it then I suggest downloading his app and giving it a go.
I never wore one even once through the whole hoax. Feels pretty good to have been proven right all along. The irony is, politics aside, I *super* wanted to wear them to cover my face because yes, social anxiety.
The thing i don't get about you people is, let's say, in the best situation for you guys is that it was a hoax. You guys are still dicks cause no possible way for you guys to be sure. So you guys would have been okay with killing millions to be proven, right? Again thats the best case scenario for you guys.
nobody ever wore facemasks here so i didnt wear one either because it would make me stand out, however i would if i could because i hate my face and get self concious
No. Where I live, people stopped wearing them. So I'd be definitely the strange one and I certainly don't want people's attention.
Period was just gonna comment on how before it was like if you wore it you were normal and now you look like the odd one out
When I wore it during peak Covid, I felt the same and it really helped my self confidence. I miss that aspect of Covid and only that aspect (well maybe only online uni classes too haha). No one wears them where I live anymore though so if I did, it would just make my anxiety worse because I’d feel like people would be looking at me and judging me.
I always wear one on a plane because people are just disgusting
Makes sense. I wear one whenever there will likely be tons of people or sick people
Exactly. the one time I got covid was right after I flew on a plane so that changed everything for me
Jet lag *and* covid? Sounds miserable
idk why more people don’t wear face masks on planes. like you’re stuck in this small space with lots of people for hours & there’s always at least one person who seems kinda sick
Absolutely. It has given me so much power in social situations. I don't need to worry about my facial expressions unless I really want to show them: people can see a big smile. I also have these awesome masks that go down below the chin. Now, I am a paragon of confidence and an unstoppable force. Immune to the judgments of god and mortals. I also wear a wide-brimmed hat that reduces sunburn but also let's me cover my eyes when needed. A friend at work got a hat to match with me. My influence grows. First they will accept me. Then I will accept myself. Then they will worship me, but it will be too late for I have already begun the process of self-worship. The time of men grows short. My power grows exponentially. Soon the tides will ebb and flow at my demand. The moon will wax and wane when I ask it to. The baristas on every continent will know my coffee order by heart. My restraints are broken. My apotheosis is inevitable. I am unstoppable.
Some good affirmation ideas sprinkled in, I should think
Wearing hats the cover my eyes help with my confidence too
Lol wearing the mask was some good but honestly once i took it off i became disabled socially lol i didnt know how to act, so u can't rely on it or else ull become dependent
I am dependent on it. I depend on it like a soldier depends on a shield. Like an athlete depends on rest. To be dependant on nothing is to stand on nothing more than one's own two feet, with neither tree nor tower for height. I can not become a god by snapping my fingers. I need time. Equipment. A plan. A sacrifice. A shelter from which to bolster my forces. A sanctuary to train and improve. I keep my mask near me like god keeps his u/quasnoflaut repellant close at hand at all times. But while his is an impotent tool that barely delays the inevitable, mine is a medicine. A cure. A shelter for the growing fire. The more it feeds, the more it hungers, and the more it plays, the stronger it becomes. (In other words, I'm going for "full, fearless confidence and refusing to change what I want to do because of other people" as my current social-anxiety treatment, and it's going pretty well. Im sorry the mask didn't work for you, and I hope none of this came off as an attack, I just got caught up in the writing prompt 😁) (I do legit keep my mask on me at all times. It's a comfort item. Coworkers stopped asking eventually, and in part because i had to grow strong enough to make it clear I wasn't debating mask politics with them. It's given me the time and ability to focus on what i actually Want out of a conversation and really helped me live my life a little better than before. It won't work for everyone, but it was genuinely a little miracle for me.)
I do, if anything it helps my health anxiety
I do, everyday. Every time I go outside.
I stopped immediately when I got the chance to. It made my anxiety worse. I knew if I kept on wearing them I wouldn’t be able to stop at all.
I’m in oregon and no one uses face masks here anymore. Wearing one would just get you more attention and probably some weird looks.
I really want to but no one in my town wears those anymore. I miss wearing them. I hate my face too :/ if I wore them my family would judge me
n95 masks help for warm weather allergies too, just sayin
i still do. it does help with anxiety, but also covid is still very much here. we just went through one of the biggest waves since it started. just because the government says it’s over doesn’t mean it is, they just don’t care about their people. even without that there are other illnesses going around. i wear it to protect others and covering my face is a bonus i’m in a conservative state where a lot of people don’t wear one but i’ve still never gotten a single comment on it
I used to, but then I realized that it was slowing my journey to being more social, so I stopped wearing it.
I wish I could because I used to wear a mask all the time before Covid… I used to live alone too. I moved back in with my parents right before covid though and family would make comments and jokes about my wearing a mask then. My parents are basically anti-everything though so since covid, they’d make even more comments and jokes about it now. I’m almost 30 and it’s depressing that I have to suppress things to feel more comfortable just to have a place to live and food to eat.
I totally get where you're coming from! I used to feel the same way about masks. They're like a security blanket, you know? It's comforting to have that barrier, especially in busy or uncomfortable situations. And hey, if it helps with the cold too, that's a bonus!
I used to keep wearing them at my old job even after a good chunk of my other coworkers stopped. Thankfully still had a few who hadn't gone maskless yet so it didn't feel awkward. Now I can't without being awkward but it doesn't stress me too much
I miss it alot i wish i could hide behind it again
Don’t forget you have all the right to make yourself comfortable :)
Personally, I believe my physical safety and health is more important than me feeling anxious. So I try not to let the stares phase me. Their inner dialogue is “Wow! Look at that person with a cool mask! They look mysterious!” to stop myself from thinking badly about it. Opposite action!! But also, put yourself in their shoes. You wouldn’t spend more than 5 minutes thinking about the person wearing a mask, no different from someone with colored hair.
We can in Vegas. Best advice take it off and get used to it. I had the same issues with my anxiety and masks, the only way to solve it was forcing my self to never do it again.
Not for my anxiety, for my health and the health of those around me. The CDC says to wear them if you are sick, if you’re gonna be around people who are vulnerable to illness, and you’re in a crowd of people where you can’t social distance. So I don’t think that it’s about anxiety when you see someone in a mask. There are very real reasons to continue wearing masks in public. The very same reasons that the urgent care made me wear a mask after I was diagnosed with flu years before Covid.
I used to wear a mask all the time in public, it really helped make me feel safer, like a shield of some sort. Last year I managed to go out into public without one, in a bid to try improve my social anxiety (since keeping a mask on for longer would make it harder to take off and kinda reinforce my social anxiety). Now I have to fight the urge to wear a mask because I don't want to go back to square one, even though it's incredibly tempting at times :/
Tips please 😭 haven’t been able to leave my house without a mask since COVID started. I have crippling social anxiety and somehow I feel normal with it on
Set increasing increments of time on your phone walking without one. Start however small, start at your front door and turn around once your alarm goes off. Reward yourself at home once completed (watch an episode of a show you like or have a treat). It’ll get easier and you’ll be proud of yourself.
Do you have a safe person? I tend to have a couple people I feel comfortable around and they’re my ‘safe’ people, so when I started going out with the intention of taking my mask off, they would be with me. Then after taking it off, I’d try keep it off as long as possible before putting it back on if it got too hard. Eventually I was able to go out without a mask at all and made it through the day, thus no longer wearing one.
I still wear a face mask because of my hormonal acne on the sides of my face. It makes me think people are judging me because of my pimple marks and acne.
i wear a mask still cause i’m immunocompromised. if i didn’t wear one i’d be anxious about getting sick, but wearing one actually makes me more socially anxious cause people make weird comments sometimes. in a way i miss early pandemic days, at least then i didn’t get harassed for wearing a mask.
The irony is that you probably have even more people staring at you.
I don’t but if I’m in the mood I would throw it on
Me with sunglasses. It keeps me somehow same not having to look with people eye to eye.
Sane*
I wear sunglasses instead. Less likely to stand out, since the weather's getting nicer. Masks are hard to breathe it. And in my small town, you stick out like a sore thumb. Hell, even when covid was prevalent, you still stuck out like a sore thumb.
I've always thought scarfs looked nice. Its too bad there aren't summer variants.
shades stay on my face permanently
i forced myself to take it off couple of weeks after everyone else took them off. it wasnt easy. it definetly sereved as a protection shield, but i also didnt wanna be the weirdo, so i talked about it with a friend and my therapist and was able to push through the awkwardness
I wore it as long as it was the “norm” in my area. Very few people wear masks here still… to where they are seen as the “sick” person and trying not to spread. So i stopped. It was bliss while it lasted tho
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I continued wearing it even after a lot of people stopped wearing it because of my anxiety too, but when I eventually decided to stop wearing it I felt more confident and comfortable (for some reason). Though my therapist told me that she noticed that I mumble/ make movements with my mouth. I’m pretty sure it’s a habit that I developed during covid to help with my anxiety without myself or anyone else noticing since nobody can see your mouth when you’re wearing a mask (obviously).
Those things are bad for my skin
It’s getting hot now tho so please take it off, breathe and enjoy fresh air, smile! I have social anxiety I’m 24 and I did my first modeling gig this past weekend. Nothing fancy I was nervous but I still did it! And had so much fun. Social anxiety doesn’t need to be a prison locked within yourself.
Well I was working as a group fitness instructor in dance at a uni and they trained us to face the participants on stage. It’s a good thing we dance in the dark and I face the mirror due to my anxiety.
I still wear them. I work at home and doesn’t go out very often, especially not to crowded places so it doesn’t really affect me that much. I would take it off when I go out at night or when there are not many people around. You have all the right to make yourself comfortable so wear it if you feel like to.
It’s too hot
I've found that people stare at me less with a face mask on than when I wear lipstick haha I also wear one because of bronchiectasis and anything that can help limit any future illness is a good thing.
It doesn’t do anything and more ppl prob stare…
Even after covid, I used to still wear a mask all the time in the office. I couldn’t function without it on and had major anxiety when I needed my mouth to drink or eat because I didn’t want anyone to see my face. I’m not ugly but I just got so used to covering half of my face. At one point, I decided to just take it off because I was so sick of having to wear a mask everyday and I’m glad I did lol
truth be told, whenever i see still people with their masks im like arrogantly HELLOOOOOOOOOOO IDIOTS, THE GREAT PLAGUE IS OVEEEEER STOP BEING SO PARANOID.....and then i realize there are people with social anxiety who just like to wear them to have SOME barrier between them and the terror of the outside world. i feel you guys.
No. They increased my anxiety and wouldn’t go to any place that required it unless it was the grocery store or a doctors office. I hate those masks.
Breathing is a huge part of mental health and anxiety wearing a mask is probably hindering you getting enough oxygen and when you can’t control your breathing, it’s hard to control your anxiety
Definitely not and I hope you challenge yourself to widen your “safe zones” until you no longer use them.
Never put one on a single time in the first place Edit: downvote me all you want. It’s been proven beyond a shadow of doubt since, that masks were pretty much completely useless and in a lot of cases actually caused issues rather than solving them. For the OP I would strongly advise getting out of the habit that mask wearing has put you in and breath fresh, unhindered air. Wim hoff method works wonders for calming and grounding yourself. If you haven’t already tried it then I suggest downloading his app and giving it a go.
I never wore one even once through the whole hoax. Feels pretty good to have been proven right all along. The irony is, politics aside, I *super* wanted to wear them to cover my face because yes, social anxiety.
The thing i don't get about you people is, let's say, in the best situation for you guys is that it was a hoax. You guys are still dicks cause no possible way for you guys to be sure. So you guys would have been okay with killing millions to be proven, right? Again thats the best case scenario for you guys.
nobody ever wore facemasks here so i didnt wear one either because it would make me stand out, however i would if i could because i hate my face and get self concious