Idk if this is valuable to you but it was to me so I’ll take a shot. This is about social anxiety but can apply to other types as well imo.

I learned that my social anxiety was because I would not stick up for myself. Anxiety and “fight or flight” are physiologically the same thing, so my anxiety was my body freaking out that I may be abused in conversation with no way to defend myself.

I spent years learning healthy boundaries and effective ways to handle conflict and confrontation and in my mid 30s I finally feel like I’m crawling out of the hole.

It’s a little annoying the thing I was anxious about and avoiding (conflict, embarrassment, making a scene if necessary) was actually the thing keeping me anxious in the first place but I’m glad I’m back on the climb out now.

I wish you luck in your journey, stranger.