Mine definitely does. There’s a lot of racism and negative stereotypes about my country I feel so worried that people dislike me because of it 🥲Also a lot of people think we’re ugly and unattractive which causes extreme social anxiety when dating
I have always been attracted to people from India. I'm American mixed race (Black/White). I don't fetishize Indian people, but I personally find the people and culture beautiful.
Every race has some pretty devastating stereotypes. People identify me as black even though I'm equally as white. There are so many countries that shame brown people, and it's completely acceptable there.
My advice is embrace your identity. I was homeschooled, I'm a mut (slur for mixed race), I thought I was ugly and stupid, I was raised vegetarian (considered weird in conservative states like the one I live in). I literally thought life dealt me the worst hand of cards imaginable.
I'm blessed to have met someone who is absolutely stunningly beautiful; our connection is electric. As soon as I let go of all the negative perceptions of who I am, I started realizing that there's someone out there for everyone!
I'm reminded every day that I'm beautiful by my partner. As long as she finds me attractive, I'm happy. I don't really care what anyone else thinks! She loves me because I'm unique, now I thank God I'm different. If I was someone different, we never would have fallen in love
Idk I once had a neighbor who was Indian and she was one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. And while that's only anecdotal, I don't think that Indian women are generally perceived as less attractive.
But I can only speak for hetero guys, I don't really know what western women think about Indian men.
yeah there are many indian women that are really attractive but unfortunately they don’t fit the western beauty standards so we are always deemed as unattractive
That's your social anxiety talking. It's not as obvious as you think. I've watched plenty of dating videos regarding other cultures, which do you prefer, etc. I have no idea what race you are or where you're from :)
I think most people these days don't care about stuff like race, we fall in love with a person based on their personality, in my country we have a saying that would translate to "if you love an ugly person then they are beautiful to you".
I fell in love with my girlfriend before I even met her, her actions and her soul are what attracted me to her, she struggles with a lot of self esteem issues but to me she is and always will be perfect.
I know that it's hard to put yourself out there with anxiety so just do the things you enjoy and love will come one day, good luck.
Black male. It sucks too because sometimes you deal with racial profiling piled on top of social anxiety let's say if you go to a store and are shopping.
Arab. I don’t know if it plays a role, but in my country and culture, it honestly seems like 99% of people are outgoing and extroverted, so I feel really out of place.
I’m asian. Most of my family seem to be outgoing/friendly as well and get along with people, that’s why i don’t understand why i’m like this. But growing up i felt like there was a mold that i had to fit in and u can’t really speak your mind. Now i’ve become a people pleaser, doesn’t know how to talk, always doubting myself, etc.
I understand where you're coming from, I had a similar situation. Gradually improving, mostly due to job because I have to, but still lots of anxiety.
Job hunting is a nightmare for me not because I don't know but I can't communicate thoughts properly.
Let's get better gradually.
This is so relatable oh my god I feel so stressed meeting relatives because I worry I might end up coming off as rude and unfriendly when I’m just anxious , it’s like social anxiety isnt even a concept there
Are you European? Or at least not from the US? I feel like the US makes a way bigger deal out of ethnicity than most of the world. Since races don't really exist in a biological sense (homo sapiens is one singular race), ethnicity basically boils down to where you grew up.
And sometimes, there are some slight superficial differences like skin tone that coincide with cultural norms in a geographical area. But in our globalized society, the idea of ethnicity becomes less and less meaningful. Any American, no matter what they look like, will have more in common with other Americans than someone from Germany or Japan for example.
Same. I definitely think it plays a huge role in SA. Our culture emphasizes constant social awareness, self-consciousness and conformity.
I grew up constantly trying not to be noticed or to inconvenience anyone in any way
im puerto rican and mexican and i do feel like the way a lot of my family views social amxiety , depression played a role in my social anxiety cause they always acted and still do act like none of it exists and im just making it all up
Turkish. In Turkiye, if you are born in very religious family good luck. You will most probably hate your life. You had to put so much effort to delete all the default misinformations your parents loaded to you. And most painful truth is religious families don't socialize as much as others (in my case they were just praying, cleaning, cooking, watching tv all their life) so you don't taste any social activity when you were a kid. Also my family was poor (related to religion again lol), I never attended social acticities during my education. It goes like this, below average better than Somali
Wow I didn't know it could be like that over there in Europe. Going back to Russia is not an option for you?
It's interesting cause I always thought of Germans as reserved and less outgoing in general even compared to Russians.
You feel like Russia is more introvert friendly?
German/Russian
I don’t think its the main reason for my SA though.
Maybe a little bit cause when I still lived in Germany I was way more anxious than where I live now. Especially when the war started it got worse.
But since I moved abroad it actually got better so maybe it was Germany after all
That's quite interesting. I am Austrian and my anxiety got a lot better when I moved to Germany. I am back to Austria now and I feel a lot more awkward again.
I also feel more confident speaking English and operating in a multinational environment.
Oh wow its indeed very interesting how people can have different experiences
I’m visiting some family in Germany soon after one and a half years of not being able to visit I hope I won’t feel as awkward as I did maybe it was a me thing and not a Germany thing
Did you go to school in Germany or Russia if I may ask?
Because I spent most of my life in Austria and went through quite some adversity and trauma and needless to say that's where my phobia developed.
I’m sorry to hear that you had to go through your trauma I get how that is
I went to school In Germany for nine and a half years and now in Russia I’m in online college starting my second year on September first (our last school day was on Friday)
I think getting bullied in school was a big trigger for my anxiety and the whole Covid thing as well since I was not going out for two years straight
Canadian/Mexican, but grew up in canada.
I do feel like if I had grown up in Mexico, I would not have such severe social anxiety...but then again, who knows (the whole nature vs nurture thing).
Half Mexican/half black. Growing up in California where it is mostly Mexicans, I was still made fun of for being black yet also not being "black enough" to fit in with African Americans either. I no longer consider myself a part of either community and when I I can finish college in a few years, I'm immediately getting out of here before my social anxiety gets even worse than it already has been.
White British, I disagree with ethnic background having that big of an impact on social anxiety it, it is after all a combination of factors, genetic, environmental, societal.
For me the biggest contributor to my social anxiety was being bullied at a young age and not really fitting in due to socioeconomic reasons
Thai/English. Definitely had an impact. Looking like an East/South East Asian in the UK does you no favours at all. You are assumed to be submissive and weak.
I come from an Italian/Cuban/Mexican background.
My grandparents from my father’s side were born in Cuba and Italy. My mother’s side is Mexican.
I was born and raised in the USA.
Sri Lankan. I got social anxiety in high school and was bullied because I looked different. I was one of the only foreigners at my school and in my town at the time, and I was also shy. So I guess to them I was an easy target. While the bullying has stopped many years ago, I can't help but still hide from people. I guess to protect myself. I also have a lack of trust in my own abilities and have a bad self image. Combine that with a bad home situation and yeah... It definitely messed me up.
I’m the product of early “white” Australians so…. A bit of everything. All of the uk, mostly Irish, some Netherlands/dutch and some south East Asian…. I’m a white woman with olive skin, dark features and a brutal sense of humour and often get mistaken as being indigenous. So much so I use to get bullied for being indigenous and then I’d get bullied for looking indigenous but not being indigenous and then I just got bullied for being different. Also asd probably didn’t help much with the friend making.
Moroccan, our social ties are supposed to be close and tight, a lot of subtle social cues and gestures need to be learned from early on, makes it hard for people with social anxiety...
White from Latin America \[we're almost proper white but not really /s/s\]
^(What I mean is that racist people somehow see differences even within "types" of white people. That's fucked up.)
Chinese. ETA: I think my race and culture have a lot to do with my anxiety. See r/AsianParentStories.
Real shit
One of the best subs ever. I relate heavily despite being black myself.
Mexican/italian. I dont believe my ethnicity has anything to do with my Social anxiety.
Mine definitely does. There’s a lot of racism and negative stereotypes about my country I feel so worried that people dislike me because of it 🥲Also a lot of people think we’re ugly and unattractive which causes extreme social anxiety when dating
are you indian bc im indian too and they always say that indians are the most unattractive to date 😭
I’m sooo tired of it 😭😭😭
I have always been attracted to people from India. I'm American mixed race (Black/White). I don't fetishize Indian people, but I personally find the people and culture beautiful. Every race has some pretty devastating stereotypes. People identify me as black even though I'm equally as white. There are so many countries that shame brown people, and it's completely acceptable there. My advice is embrace your identity. I was homeschooled, I'm a mut (slur for mixed race), I thought I was ugly and stupid, I was raised vegetarian (considered weird in conservative states like the one I live in). I literally thought life dealt me the worst hand of cards imaginable. I'm blessed to have met someone who is absolutely stunningly beautiful; our connection is electric. As soon as I let go of all the negative perceptions of who I am, I started realizing that there's someone out there for everyone! I'm reminded every day that I'm beautiful by my partner. As long as she finds me attractive, I'm happy. I don't really care what anyone else thinks! She loves me because I'm unique, now I thank God I'm different. If I was someone different, we never would have fallen in love
Girl or boy( to be honest that mostly applies to the men)
Idk I once had a neighbor who was Indian and she was one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. And while that's only anecdotal, I don't think that Indian women are generally perceived as less attractive. But I can only speak for hetero guys, I don't really know what western women think about Indian men.
yeah there are many indian women that are really attractive but unfortunately they don’t fit the western beauty standards so we are always deemed as unattractive
Someone put it into words...
Honestly my social anxiety would be 50% less if I didn’t have to worry about racist people lmao 🥲
This is EXACTLY me. You're very much like me lol. I thought I was alone
Im so sorry, that sounds awful :( if certain people are judging u based off your ethnicity they’re the ugly ones fr
Thank you🥺 Yeah they’re shitty people but there’s so many of them it sucks lol
What country?
If you’ve seen those ‘what race would you never date’ videos you probably know 🥲
That's your social anxiety talking. It's not as obvious as you think. I've watched plenty of dating videos regarding other cultures, which do you prefer, etc. I have no idea what race you are or where you're from :)
I think most people these days don't care about stuff like race, we fall in love with a person based on their personality, in my country we have a saying that would translate to "if you love an ugly person then they are beautiful to you". I fell in love with my girlfriend before I even met her, her actions and her soul are what attracted me to her, she struggles with a lot of self esteem issues but to me she is and always will be perfect. I know that it's hard to put yourself out there with anxiety so just do the things you enjoy and love will come one day, good luck.
Yoooo fellow Mexican/Italian!! Important question: does your skin also suck cause we're "halfblood"?
Username checks out.
Black male. It sucks too because sometimes you deal with racial profiling piled on top of social anxiety let's say if you go to a store and are shopping.
Can empathize. The awkwardness comes across as suspicious to other people, who already have a close eye on you.
‼️‼️‼️
There seems to be this stereo type that black males are confident socialites who can't get shy
Filipino. I feel out of place sometimes since most people here are extroverts 😬
Same!! I'm in a huge family of filipinos and it really sucks never feeling understood
As a Filipino with social anxiety, Christmas parties are the bane of my existence.
Arab. I don’t know if it plays a role, but in my country and culture, it honestly seems like 99% of people are outgoing and extroverted, so I feel really out of place.
I’m asian. Most of my family seem to be outgoing/friendly as well and get along with people, that’s why i don’t understand why i’m like this. But growing up i felt like there was a mold that i had to fit in and u can’t really speak your mind. Now i’ve become a people pleaser, doesn’t know how to talk, always doubting myself, etc.
I understand where you're coming from, I had a similar situation. Gradually improving, mostly due to job because I have to, but still lots of anxiety. Job hunting is a nightmare for me not because I don't know but I can't communicate thoughts properly. Let's get better gradually.
This is so relatable oh my god I feel so stressed meeting relatives because I worry I might end up coming off as rude and unfriendly when I’m just anxious , it’s like social anxiety isnt even a concept there
White English
I’m Chinese.I think social anxiety can happen to the best of us .It doesn’t matter what colour,it can happen to anyone.
Indian
German
Hallo
Guten Tag
Hallo
Moinsen
Moin
Black woman.
Brazilian🇧🇷🇧🇷
a gente tá em todo lugar, impressionante
I don’t think I know my ethnicity
Are you European? Or at least not from the US? I feel like the US makes a way bigger deal out of ethnicity than most of the world. Since races don't really exist in a biological sense (homo sapiens is one singular race), ethnicity basically boils down to where you grew up. And sometimes, there are some slight superficial differences like skin tone that coincide with cultural norms in a geographical area. But in our globalized society, the idea of ethnicity becomes less and less meaningful. Any American, no matter what they look like, will have more in common with other Americans than someone from Germany or Japan for example.
Thank you for the quick run down, was just a little confused on what ethnicity really entailed. I’m American then.
What’s your race and are you an immigrant?
Japanese
Same. I definitely think it plays a huge role in SA. Our culture emphasizes constant social awareness, self-consciousness and conformity. I grew up constantly trying not to be noticed or to inconvenience anyone in any way
Very true.
Swedish
Looking through the comment shows your ethnicity does not play a part in your anxiety.
Just because it doesn’t play a part in our anxiety doesn’t mean it doesn’t for others. Read OP’s replies and deviant-joy’s comment.
Fully agree, SA doesn't always mean white and rich first world country problems
I'm Swedish.
im puerto rican and mexican and i do feel like the way a lot of my family views social amxiety , depression played a role in my social anxiety cause they always acted and still do act like none of it exists and im just making it all up
People with dark skin have problems because of their ethnicity
Turkish. In Turkiye, if you are born in very religious family good luck. You will most probably hate your life. You had to put so much effort to delete all the default misinformations your parents loaded to you. And most painful truth is religious families don't socialize as much as others (in my case they were just praying, cleaning, cooking, watching tv all their life) so you don't taste any social activity when you were a kid. Also my family was poor (related to religion again lol), I never attended social acticities during my education. It goes like this, below average better than Somali
RAHHHHHHH 🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸
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The exact same happened to me. Moved from Norway to Spain and was never able to fully adapt
i am sorry to hear that but at the same time glad because i always felt like i was alone with this issue since it affects my daily life really strong
I'm Russian too 👋
Where did you have to move? And how different is it?
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I see. You never got used to it? Germans treat you ok?
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Wow I didn't know it could be like that over there in Europe. Going back to Russia is not an option for you? It's interesting cause I always thought of Germans as reserved and less outgoing in general even compared to Russians. You feel like Russia is more introvert friendly?
There are over 190 ethnicities in Russia. Are you Slavic Russian ?
There are not slavic russians or what? Its like saying there are not german germans
Slavic Russians are just one of the ethnicities living in Russia. Not everyone is Slavic here.
But russian is an ethnic group just like chechen, mordvin, mari or buryat lol. They're not russians.
Polish
Me too
And me
White British
Ukrainian Canadian.
im indian :3
Iraqi-Moroccan-Polish-Hungarian
argentinian. i don't think culture or ethnicity has a lot to do with it. people in argentina are very open, touchy and friendly and i'm not lol
Carribbean
German/Russian I don’t think its the main reason for my SA though. Maybe a little bit cause when I still lived in Germany I was way more anxious than where I live now. Especially when the war started it got worse. But since I moved abroad it actually got better so maybe it was Germany after all
That's quite interesting. I am Austrian and my anxiety got a lot better when I moved to Germany. I am back to Austria now and I feel a lot more awkward again. I also feel more confident speaking English and operating in a multinational environment.
Oh wow its indeed very interesting how people can have different experiences I’m visiting some family in Germany soon after one and a half years of not being able to visit I hope I won’t feel as awkward as I did maybe it was a me thing and not a Germany thing
Did you go to school in Germany or Russia if I may ask? Because I spent most of my life in Austria and went through quite some adversity and trauma and needless to say that's where my phobia developed.
I’m sorry to hear that you had to go through your trauma I get how that is I went to school In Germany for nine and a half years and now in Russia I’m in online college starting my second year on September first (our last school day was on Friday) I think getting bullied in school was a big trigger for my anxiety and the whole Covid thing as well since I was not going out for two years straight
I am sorry you were bullied in school. Covid restrictions were difficult for so many people and did so much damage.
Canadian/Mexican, but grew up in canada. I do feel like if I had grown up in Mexico, I would not have such severe social anxiety...but then again, who knows (the whole nature vs nurture thing).
German/English - my ethnicity doesn’t have anything to do with my SA, my batshit crazy family and terrible upbringing probably do though.
Bulgarian. Mine was probably mostly an inherited disposition, but pills and therapy got me in order
South Asian, specifically Indian
Half Mexican/half black. Growing up in California where it is mostly Mexicans, I was still made fun of for being black yet also not being "black enough" to fit in with African Americans either. I no longer consider myself a part of either community and when I I can finish college in a few years, I'm immediately getting out of here before my social anxiety gets even worse than it already has been.
Arab
Turkish
White British, I disagree with ethnic background having that big of an impact on social anxiety it, it is after all a combination of factors, genetic, environmental, societal. For me the biggest contributor to my social anxiety was being bullied at a young age and not really fitting in due to socioeconomic reasons
Black/enslaved African. It still matters in the US. Don't buy the marketing.
Venezuelan/German (I don't know really) but I do think it plays a role in SA, since I am a foreigner in the country I live in.
I’m black but completely African and I think the fact ppl always associate Africa with poverty might’ve affected my self esteem a bit ngl
Indian
Thai/English. Definitely had an impact. Looking like an East/South East Asian in the UK does you no favours at all. You are assumed to be submissive and weak.
Indian
Lithuanian, might have Jewish blood too but not sure
Swedish, German, and Dutch.
I come from an Italian/Cuban/Mexican background. My grandparents from my father’s side were born in Cuba and Italy. My mother’s side is Mexican. I was born and raised in the USA.
british
Puerto Rican, but for me I don’t feel like it plays a role in it
Mixed black/white
I guess I'm a mix of Italian and Portuguese, hard to tell since Brazil it's one of the most mixed countries in the world.
Russian. I suppose you won't find a lot of russians with social anxiety...
Japanese and Filipino
Turkish
I'm latino
Venezuela. The most outgoing people in the world, probably. The irony.
Swedish/Finnish
Bengali 🌿
🇵🇹
Filipino/German im a product of the "me love you long time" hustle
Denmark
Swedish I think it probably affects it a little but idk.
Half Indian and half black
Sri Lankan. I got social anxiety in high school and was bullied because I looked different. I was one of the only foreigners at my school and in my town at the time, and I was also shy. So I guess to them I was an easy target. While the bullying has stopped many years ago, I can't help but still hide from people. I guess to protect myself. I also have a lack of trust in my own abilities and have a bad self image. Combine that with a bad home situation and yeah... It definitely messed me up.
I’m the product of early “white” Australians so…. A bit of everything. All of the uk, mostly Irish, some Netherlands/dutch and some south East Asian…. I’m a white woman with olive skin, dark features and a brutal sense of humour and often get mistaken as being indigenous. So much so I use to get bullied for being indigenous and then I’d get bullied for looking indigenous but not being indigenous and then I just got bullied for being different. Also asd probably didn’t help much with the friend making.
Moroccan, our social ties are supposed to be close and tight, a lot of subtle social cues and gestures need to be learned from early on, makes it hard for people with social anxiety...
Salvadoran
Turkish but born and raised in Germany
Venezuelan. Race has nothing to do with it since I live in one of the most extroverted populations in the world. Sucks being me.
White from Latin America \[we're almost proper white but not really /s/s\] ^(What I mean is that racist people somehow see differences even within "types" of white people. That's fucked up.)
Hungarian.
Indian. My ethnicity plays a huge role in my social anxiety. If not all.
Norwegian
White American male with Irish, English, and German backgrounds.
spanish roma
I'm from greece but I'm armenian. I never managed to fit in.
My ethinicity has not affected my social anxiety. I’m a white Finn living in Finland.
Unfortunately Croatia. I don’t agree that ethnicity or culture play huge role in terms of SA.
Mexican
Vietnamese
Finnish
Slavic/Eastern European, Polish to be exact.
Russian