Those around me are eggshell-walking

So I've recently discovered that a few people around me feel like they have to walk on eggshells when they're around me and when they talk to me due to my anxiety disorder- they're afraid of setting me off, but in turn, they end up setting me off because I know they're avoiding me and they refuse to tell me why. I also end up coming off as annoying because during conversations or gatherings that I'm actually invited to, i try to compensate for my feeling of being avoided or kept out of things by going too far with jokes or trying too hard to tell impressive or funny stories.

How the can I tell people that you don't have to treat me like my emotions are super super delicate? And not just by outright saying so, by body language or by the way I act/talk alone when I'm around acquaintances or people who have no clue I have GAD?

ollieis wrote:How the can I tell people that you don't have to treat me like my emotions are super super delicate?

Have you considered approaching them for a discussion about it? "I'd like to have a chat with you sometime about something, is there a time you have free?" usually goes down ok.

Did they speak to you first to make you aware that they feel like they are walking on eggshells? Or did you find out that information from someone they were gossiping to? If they told you themselves, then it will make it easier to start up a conversation with them about it. But if you found out they feel like this second hand, from someone else, it will make it more difficult to broach the conversation with them because you need to find a way to say that you became aware that they feel like they are walking on eggshells around you without you divulging who told you that they feel this way.

In some way, it may also be easier to consider your own behaviour. Perhaps there is something you could do to make them feel reassured before they are afraid of setting you off? Then they won't avoid you and you won't react...

Do you have a therapist or someone you can talk through things with also? It can help to get a perspective from someone in real life sometimes...