Have you ever felt embarrassed because of your anxiety? I'm sure the answer is YES! Everyone has something that they're not completely comfortable with... fear of dogs, bridges, flying, etc. You're definitely not alone.
One of the hardest things that I had to overcome when I was having daily panic attacks was the feeling of embarrassment and weakness. Here I was, a young man in his 20's, then his 30's, and I'm terrified of anxiety attacks! Basically afraid of fearful feelings. How embarrassing! Of course I couldn't tell anyone that because I'd be MORE embarrassed. What if they laughed at me? What if they told someone about me and THEY laughed at me? How humiliating... I'm such a wimp!!
What I didn't realize at the time was everyone has some degree of anxiety, or panics at some time in their lives, it may not be to the extent that you and I do (or did), but they do. They have the adrenaline rush, the pounding heart, the upset stomach, and the racing thoughts. They don't understand what is happening to them and just brush it off. Nobody ever even notices. The only difference between us and them is they don't let it become a problem.
If you're having problems with the feelings of embarrassment then you need to start opening up to people. In order to get over those feelings you need to talk about them. The more you talk to people about it, the more you'll come to realize that you're not alone and begin to get over feeling like you are.
Find someone you're comfortable with, a family member, a friend, a co-worker, and just start slow. I'm not saying blurt it out right out of the blue but the next time you start to feel anxious, let someone know how you're feeling. Explain that there are certain situations that you don't feel comfortable in. Ask them if they ever felt that way, you'll be surprised at their answer. You may find that the person you're talking to may not completely understand but it'll still help you to talk about it. You'll feel a little more comfortable and realize that it's all right. The more you open up the less embarrassing it's going to be.
The first person that I really talked to about all of this was my wife. When I started having panic attacks I had no idea what was going on and felt completely confused and "weak". She didn't really understand it either but just having her there and having her know how I was feeling really helped. For a long time I didn't tell anyone else, not my parents, friends, nobody. Looking back I realize that was a mistake but what did I know?
The next people I opened up to were a couple of brother-in-laws. That helped me a lot, especially since they were men. There's nothing worse for a "guy" than to show weakness in front of other "guys". Once I let them know I was uncomfortable in sometimes they shared some situations where they were also uncomfortable, not to the degree that I was, but it helped know there were "others".
Then some close friends at work. I was surprised how understanding they were. It helped. Eventually, whoever was around.
I'm not embarrassed anymore. It's no big deal and I don't even give it a second thought when I feel uncomfortable and let someone know. You shouldn't either.
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