Is it normal men mansplain socializing to me
I am a woman with social anxiety. I have travelled alone during which I stopped strangers to ask for directions, and if a stranger would start talking to me I would have no problem engaging. Sometimes when my anxiety is at a higher level it would feel horrific but other days my anxiety is at a low level and I feel confident.
Due to this I dont get why men I meet start treating me like a baby as soon as I tell them I suffer from social anxiety. I dont even reveal it in a sad whiny way but in bypass. I tend to attract men who struggle with anxiety hence the topic comes up. I never bring it up.
The guy im currently dating has way worse anxiety than me. We cant go ANYWHERE without him getting all shaky and silent if someone stands near us. He says he can follow as support if I want to do something like join an activity which i've talked about doing and that is nice but my ex (who had diagnosed social anxiety by the way and was a hermit before we started dating) said the same and then insisted on supporting me to things and talking to random people infront of me being all "thats how its done!". While he was doing so his confidence grew and he started bullying me for having social anxiety. He kept projecting on me and acting nasty, laughing at me if I looked uncomfortable around strangers and even pointing at me. Yet I was the one who helped him even get to that point of confidence. Real nice.
Yesterday I was out with the guy im dating and at one point a stranger came up to us to ask if we knew where a certain bus stop is located so I told her. After she'd left he told me "good job! you practiced talking to a stranger today!". What the fuck ?
A former friend of mine had the same attitude. We had been friends quite a long time so I told him i've started therapy for my social anxiety and he started babying me and would chat up random stranger outside infront of me and then say "thats how you talk to strangers".
This is insulting behaviour, severe mental abuse, and I am going to start fighting back. I will especially not take it from a weak person.