Struggling with the desire to be social, but fighting social anxiety

One of the biggest things I struggle with is anxiety ... especially social anxiety. It has gotten worse since the kids were taken and returned. Every time I leave the house now, I feel everyone is looking at me, judging me, talking about me, etc. It is AWFUL. I constantly fear making the wrong decision and I just cannot get comfortable. This is whether my children are with me or not. I sought professional help and was put on Prozac. They have upped my dose and I have begun to at least venture out more than I used to.

This is great since I am really working on furthering my career and need to be able to be out in the public. One of my favorite conferences to attend is the Type-A Conference and this year it was held in Atlanta (again). I have to admit, my anxiety attacks were major during the conference. I'm sure that part of it was because my children were going to be in a wedding. I was more of a mess knowing that they have special needs and I wasn't there. However, I ALSO knew that my husband knew how to handle the needs. My older sister, my mom, and the groom also stepped in when Bullfrog and Monkey were beginning to be overwhelmed. Being miles away isn't easy, but they were beautiful and the wedding photographer has posted several of the pictures on her Facebook page.

Okay, so if I get so stressed, why do I put myself through it? What does Type-A offer that is so inviting? I mean, they do offer GREAT food from awesome brands ...

BeechNut never ceases to amaze me on the way they use their food.

Jones Dairy Farm BLEW ME AWAY with their breakfast. Holy Nom!

Parties are ALWAYS top notch ... especially the Disney Parks Party.

There are always fantastic views from the skies and the swag ain't bad either ...

My beautiful city at 11pm .. all lit up

I'm having to fight my kids for my Disney Parks pen. In love!

They even have celebrities come in for great lunch talks!

However ... what REALLY draws me to Type-A Conference every year (in fact, already registered to attend Type-A West in Santa Fe) is the people These people GET me. It's like Kelby KNOWS what I need to hear ... every. single. year. We had talks on Facebook Ads, growing your numbers, knowing what to charge for posts, and so forth. However ... we ALSO had sessions for developing your own site, how to attract viewers, how to create your own start-up company, and even how to use mastermind groups. I used my LiveScribe Pen to write notes and record every conference session I attended. I got to visit with friends and relax in my quiet room when I needed space.

Digital and traditional note taking going on!

I STILL need to go through all of my notes and recordings to take really good notes from them that I can always look back on. For now, I'll leave you with a few of the photos I took during the conference.