Is it normal to be anxious of walking into a shop or grocery store?

I used to have bad anxiety and it was hard for me to go into certain places, especially if i'd never been in there before. Over time I just had to force myself to do it and guess what?? I was ok :D I survived the unknown surroundings. But I do know what it feels like and it sucks. I do not know what its like in whatever country you're from though.

Maybe the people there are a bit more impatient of others, I don't know,but just try not to pay attention to them. Just go about your business and hopefully they will go about theres and you won't have to interact with them. If they get annoyed at something like another person looking at the same shelf that they are looking at, well that's their problem.

Here's a wonderfully freeing fact of the world: very few people care about you. To pretty much everyone at the store, you're just someone walking around. To them, you are of little consequence. Nobody is special, and that's okay.

That sounds like social anxiety. You could take some medicine against anxiety so you don't have to feel worried when you go shopping.

@dirtybirdy @Blue_Velvet @seakelp @wildeyes57 @Avant-Garde
Thank you so much for your kind replies bas suggestions! It's comforting just to know that there are people out there suffering/suffered from the same anxiety too. Yes, I think I should just ignore those grumpy people, smile and do things that I want to. :)

It sounds like an social anxiety. I used to have one, but now it barely seems to present itself. Are you a minority or a young person, by any chance. In my country, it is not uncommon for people who work at stores for people who are minorities and/or young, like teenagers, to be considered "high risk" for stealing something.

In that case, I really think that it may depend on how you carry yourself and dress.

@dirtybirdy @Blue_Velvet @seakelp @wildeyes57
Thank you very much for your kind replies and recommendations. It's comforting just to hear some other people suffering/suffered from the same anxiety too. I should try to ignore grumpy people, smile and move on to the things I want to do. :)

Also, I feel compelled to add that I have been taking Zoloft for anxiety for the past 1.5 years. It has helped immensely in actually giving me the motivation to seek group therapy, and hopefully with time I will be able to wean off of it. Just so you have the whole picture of where I'm coming from.

I have the same problem but I can still go out and do these daily activities. However I do feel as though people are always judging the way I do things.. even as far as the cashier would be judging where I look when being rung in, maybe I am looking at their face too much or looking down too much, etc. Literally EVERY little thing that I do, I feel like people are looking at me and thinking I'm weird because of how I carry myself/talk/act.

It isn't pleasant going through life feeling like the world is against you. I have been working very hard at changing my thinking patterns (I attended group sessions for anxiety, plus prior to that I had purchased a book called "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Dummies"). Both suggest being in control of your thoughts.

For an example, if I catch myself thinking "Oh damn, I just said something really weird. They must think I'm a creep..", I'll go over the scenario in my head and challenge the thoughts. I'll find examples of times in the past where I've witnessed people saying similar things and where I certainly didn't think they were being creepy, so why would they think that of me? Why would people always think negative of me? When you find yourself thinking negatively, challenge your thoughts. Even write them down - write down other reasons why people may have seem annoyed that you went up to the till. Maybe they just realized they forgot to grab something. Maybe they're having a bad day and just happened to grunt at that moment. The majority of people are sooo wrapped up in their own problems, they aren't really giving someone else at the grocery store that much thought unless your being blatantly rude to them.

I think with practice, you will get to a point where you can smile and nod to people, even strike up conversations. I have gotten to that point now and it feels great :) Just be the master of your thoughts. It can be hard at first but it gets easier with time.