I don’t talk unless I have to at school. I feel like part of me is lost at school.

What feelings arise?

I feel awkward.

I feel like I’m not here when I’m with my friends.

I feel agitated. Like I’m supposed to know something and I don’t.

I’m afraid to speak because I don’t know what to say.

How does it affect you?

I feel unconfident. I do things that I don’t really want to do because I want my friends to like me. 

What is your part? 

I could talk but I don’t.

What are you learning about yourself, others, the situation?

I’m uncomfortable talking and eating at school. I get a stomachache when I eat lunch at school.

I talk at home. My family thinks I’m a comedian. I like to make them laugh.

I eat at home. But, I also feel anxious around my mom sometimes.

I think my friends are not interested in me. I’m afraid to talk to them.

What can you shift or turn around in your beliefs, thinking, words, or actions? 

I could stop worrying what my friends think.

Not eat at school and accept that I don’t like to. 

How will you work with your difficulty?

I’ll think about why I feel afraid to talk at school.

What do you think your difficulty is trying to teach?

That I'm afraid. Losing my voice is a problem and affects how I am with friends.

16 years, female