It sounds like you are stressing out at the thought of stressing out. You have associated reaching out with elevated anxiety. You have, basically, trained yourself to freak out when you reach out to whomever. Why you did this (all of your thoughts are your thoughts, unless you are a true telepath) is not the point here. If you really want to know, of course you can investigate. But first, train yourself to not freak out when you reach out.
When you feel the stress start to build, take deep breaths, sit down or lay down to make yourself comfortable, and put all your concentration on breathing. If that sounds about as exciting as watching re-runs of "The Andy Griffith Show", you're right! Excitement is the thing you want to avoid. It sometimes helps to have a point to focus on, candles are the bee's knees for this exercise.
I have found that it's very useful to have the point I am fixing on be right in the middle of my field of vision. no extra effort is required. ( as opposed to having to look up or down or side-ways) and it doesn't have to be a candle. the point you focus on should be either lighter or darker than the surrounding area, um...the area surrounding the point, not you, in case you were wondering.
The point of that...the point of the point, ha ha... Get it?... The point of the point? Ha ha.....um....anyway...... is that you will have no problem staying...wait for it...on point! I gotta million of e'm.

Uh...where was I?.... Damn senior moments. Oh!...Right. If your point of focus is similar to the background, the point will blend in with it, you'll have to work harder to stay (giggle, smirk

) on point.
If you are experiencing anxiety when doing things other than reaching out, particularly when there is no outward cause, or it's happening on a frequent basis, you might wish to consider speaking with your doctor. There are drugs that help with anxiety that are NOT the heavy hitters such as Lorzapam or dilaudid. That is how junkies are made. It's the "nuclear option", when all else has failed. You could ask about propranolol. It's actually a drug for people with high blood pressure. Keep your blood pressure normal, take deep breaths and...the anxiety doesn't feel so overwhelming, YOU can get in front of it and deal with it with a clear mind.
Keeping your mind clear is really key here. And please believe me when I say I have a very hard time focusing. My mind is running at one hundred miles an hour while the rest of me is, like, "What's all the excitement about? Dude....CHILL."
I'm sure this is unnecessary, but I'll say it anyway, Do Not Self Medicate!!!!!!!! Unless you get off on feeling lost, scared and alone. Believe it or not, there are people who have no problem with that. You can feel them when they walk into a room. That s**t spreads like a fungus. As soon as you catch a whiff of them, so to speak, it's "Shields up Mister Sulu!" They have no boundaries and no compunction about invading your space and making themselves at home.
Uh....anyway, I hope you find this useful
