My fabulous friend Charnele tagged me last week to share a little about some of my nervous tics. I don’t think I have a whole lot of nervous habits, but there are a few that spring immediately to mind:
- I clam up. I’m shy by nature and have a hard time initiating conversations with people I don’t know well (and occasionally with those I do know well).
- I fidget. I play with my hands, my wedding ring, or my hair. I adjust my clothes. I cross my arms. You get the picture.
- I chew my cheeks or lips. I do this instead of clenching my jaw, but sometimes that happens, too.
- Hot flashes…I have them. I have them even when I’m not nervous, but they seem to hit especially hard when I’m nervous about something.
- I sweat. It’s an extension of the hot flashes, but one I’m rather self-conscious about.
What about you? Do you do anything in particular when you’re nervous?
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Suddenly they all died. The end. 
I’m like you. I’m painfully shy and awfully nervous for no apparent reason. I pull my hair when talking to strangers and I often twirl my hair, which, apparently, men’s magazines interpret as a sign of the woman’s sexual interest in her conversation partner. They couldn’t be more wrong.
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Yep, that’s me to a T. Apparently I was much more forward as a toddler, but I guess school robbed me of some of that. My grandpa could walk up to a complete stranger and strike up a conversation as if they had known each other for 20 years. I don’t have that ability, but I really wish I did.
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Yes, pretty much what you said. Also, “I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress” (from King Crimson’s “Indiscipline”). It’s true, but usually it’s random words and I don’t realize I’m doing it until I say the random word a few times. Luckily it rarely happens when other people are around.
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I stutter a bit when I’m really nervous. I never used to, but then I dated a stutterer, and apparently it rubbed off a little.
Then again, I seem to do it even when I’m not nervous. I think sometimes my brain works faster than my mouth. I know my brain works faster than my fingers – it’s not uncommon for me to read through a couple pages of a story and find a word or two missing because my brain convinced my eyes that my fingers had written it down when, in fact, they hadn’t. 🙂
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Oh, my gosh, this sounds just like me. I get very shy in social situations, especially around new people. Not fun being a shy, nervous person.
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No, it’s not! But lucky for us, there’s the internet. It’s slightly less intimidating talking to people on Facebook and Twitter (or Authonomy, or other niche sites) than it is in real life. Of course, it’s simultaneously more nerve-wracking for me because I always worry about whether or not what I type correctly conveys the tone I’m aiming for because it’s so hard to read tone.
Maybe that’s why God made booze. 😛
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I am actually imagining all of these unfolding one after the other. I guess it would be pretty easy to tell when you are nervous.
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I imagine it is, though they seem to happen all at once more often than one after the other. 😉
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I smile too much. And laugh at things that aren’t funny. Nervous laughter can go down really badly in the wrong situation!
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I do that sometimes, too. The smiling part, not necessarily the laughing at the wrong thing part. Of course, I’ve done that, too.
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I become very, very cold. Weird I know.
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That is different! Sometimes it would be nice to be a bit cooler, but then I’ve gone from being perpetually cold to perpetually hot and I’m having a hard time adjusting.
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Even weirder (is that a word?) in the winter I always get very hot.
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Of course it’s a word! At least I think it’s a word. Well, it’s a word now, anyway.
Seymour loves winter, but not me. The only time I’ve ever been warm in the winter, it was because I was pregnant. I suspect that will be different this winter, but I doubt it will affect how much joy winter brings me.
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Think warm and always remember the golden rule: don’t wear too many layers. And if all else fails, go to the pub.
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I either clam up, or chatter way, way too much.
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Sounds familiar. Shyness is really a curse.
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When I’m very nervous I stumble over my words and sweat excessively, which I really hate. It just makes you more self-conscious. I feel for you honey, but you’re not alone. xxxx
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It’s always good to know we’re not alone, isn’t it? *hugs*
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Absolutely! xxx
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