Monthly Archives: February 2014
Do’s and Don’ts of Helping a friend with social anxiety or Phobias (Sting and Paul Simon Serenade)
Perhaps you have a friend or mate who becomes intensely uncomfortable in social situations. Or perhaps you yourself have an intense aversion to large crowds or some other phobia that the people around you think you need to “get over”. Getting over these phobias is easier said than done. In this article we will explore some forms of social anxiety from other people’s point of view interspersed with some of my own failures and successes where social anxiety are concerned. I’m going to begin by listing a bunch of attempts that ended with less than successful or mixed results, I will finish up with some recent victories.
Lets take a journey in the way back machine
and look as some of my past attempts to interact in social situations when there are a lot of people around.
July 27, 2010
Longmont Colorado City Council chambers
July 27, 2010 1 hour 15 mins to go. I’m sittin in the council chambers….. first signed up to speak, but its agenda item 11A
On July 27, 2010, I gathered my courage and went down to the Longmont, Colorado City Council Chambers to speak about the Council wanting to ban dispensaries in the city of Longmont. I was terrified. I knew I was walking into a metaphorical “lion’s den” and I was doing it alone. I dressed as professionally as the closet of clothing and fashions provided by the the thrift store on my meager income. I had spent a great deal of time preparing myself for the 3 minute speech I was to give to our city fathers and mothers. I had my speech all written out on 3×5 cards so as to appear more professional. I arrived almost an hour early, but that had more to do with the distance I had to walk and my paranoia that it would take me longer than the average person to walk the 5 mile distance from the place where the RV I lived in was parked and the City Council Chambers. While this experience was a success in that I made it to the city council chambers, I do not count it as a success. I was successful in that I did manage to attend and to give my speech and even go through this same process several more times, even getting my name repeatedly in the Longmont Times Call (the local newspaper) and my little speeches to the city mothers and fathers even were aired on TV, appearing at the time on “The Longmont Channel” (a public access channel serving the Longmont area)
Anyone who may question why I do not consider these exercises a success need only watch the video from one of the city council meetings. Despite the eloquence of my words, you can clearly see (and I even mention) how afraid I am.
07/20/2010 View the video here: I am the second citizen to speak
associated links:
links to more experiences so that those along the path may see that it can really take a lot of failure on the social anxiety road before you can reach a shining success… I’m not going to go into each humiliation in great detail, but you can visit the links and see for yourself what I am speaking about here:
New Years eve 2011: https://www.facebook.com/breezy.kiefair/media_set?set=a.181356261884391.40580.100000300558421&type=3
state capitol edible hearing: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=196532210366796&set=a.151763424843675.27293.100000300558421&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash2%2Ft1%2F181912_196532210366796_5403390_n.jpg&size=640%2C480
artistic images from that hearing: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.204678466209542.55495.154533251224064&type=3
Traveling through Southern Colorado on foot and Stranger’s kindness
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.308895199121201.84420.154533251224064&type=3
Ganja Gala January 27, 2012
fb ganja gala event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/256052781125358/
event description:
| Join us at Colorado’s inaugural Ganja Gala, benefiting the Medical Marijuana Assistance Program of America (MMAPA) and National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). This Roaring Twenties-themed fundraising joint will celebrate the achievements of the medical cannabis industry with Prohibition Era cocktails, tasting stations serving swell snacks, and gabbing with other cannabis industry leaders to swank twenties era and modern music. Get dolled up in your costume or cocktail glad rags and join us for a night on the town. It’s sure to be the cat’s meow!Need more information? Contact Christie@303-250-0096 |
I was actually thrown out of the Ganja Gala when a brain injured member of my party engaged people across the vip lines… i was mortified, but also took a stand for the low income people the event coordinators were using for fundraising but not truly helping.
Paris on the Platte, revisiting a place of strength
Cinderella’s misadventures at the Halloween Hash Bash
Interaction in small groups
Michelle Lamay’s Thanksgiving Visit https://www.facebook.com/breezy.kiefair/media_set?set=a.711323275554351.100000300558421&type=3
Donations from Rev Baker via a Good Neighbor: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=740382512648427&set=t.100000300558421&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-frc3%2Ft31%2F1501632_740382512648427_1236464536_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2Ft1%2F1043861_740382512648427_1236464536_n.jpg&size=2048%2C1536
Diana Sunshine Wulf and Pennies for Pot
https://www.facebook.com/breezy.kiefair/media_set?set=a.709271002426245.100000300558421&type=3
Renting a Basement from a friend for a few days to make cancer cure oil:
I’ve detailed some pretty sad attempts to interact socially. No matter what I did or how I tried, these social interactions with larger groups of people just kept ending in disaster! Interactions with smaller groups were easier, but still difficult. My fears in social situations had become social anxiety or maybe would be better termed as a social phobia. I simply could not walk into a crowd without running away 3x as fast. Then one day, I found myself interviewing a new roommate and was invited to a concert that I would dearly love to see. I was faced with the old social anxiety dilemma… “do I go and risk running out, or do I not even try?” I decided to keep on trying.
Victory at last! Attendance of Sting and Paul Simon Concert 2/11/2014
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwc43UiVjiufYewv_-RgH0icVF61lxgne
Some of you know what a huge deal attending last night’s concert was for me. Yes, it was amazing to be serenaded by two artists of such high esteem. Yes, it was an enormous gift too big and lovely for me to have even contemplated far outside of what my own income ever has been able to provide… Yet, there is a huge truth that usually would have prevented me from attending. My ptsd has left me with a near phobia of crowds, and it is rare I even attempt attendance where there will be many people except when I need a bit of in person research for kiefair.com and the research cannot possibly be done any other way and is meant to help folks… I am sure there were some folks last night who were waiting to see me run screaming away from the concert. This did not happen. We got there early, and for a full 3 hours I was in the midst of a crowd. In the end, it wasn’t the fear, but sting’s light show towards the end was just way too much stimuli for me (nearly had a seizure for the first time in a long time). When I could not stand any more, my new roommate was so kind, nonjudgemental, and also was more than ready to go, allowing me not to have to fight the crowd on the way out. If you can see why this image would be a huge deal to me to attend and not run from the crowd, then I thank you for cheering me on. ref: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=751610774858934&set=a.151763424843675.27293.100000300558421&type=1&permPage=1
fb photo from concert: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=751610774858934&set=t.100000300558421&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn1%2Ft1%2F1932238_751610774858934_704856247_n.jpg&size=960%2C720
So, what made this time so much different?
1. This concert was a “bucket list item for me” meaning that I wanted to attend a Sting Concert before I died. The fact that I have so often wanted to attend a Sting concert was a definite factor in me overcoming my fear. The person feeling the fear must be excited enough about the event to overrule the fear. A business event within the industry the person works within can be a double edged sword for those with social anxiety. Those types of events appear attractive because there may or may not be people the person having the anxiety knows at the event. For me, industry events are like kryptonite… I always feel like I’m about to jump into a shark tank. It probably has something to do with my past failures at such events where other people needed me to take a stand, no matter how uncomfortable to me… For this reason, it is not my recommendation to mingle work and your attempts to overcome social anxiety at least in the beginning. If you are strong at work from behind your computer, don’t try to change that dynamic too much to start. It’s more rewarding to make this type of growth outside of the work setting and in a fun setting anyway.
2. I did not have time to overthink the event. The invitation happened the night before the event. I had a clear choice without much waiting or anticipation surrounding it. I said yes, and went the next day. I have sometimes found that when I am given too much time to ponder an event, it makes it impossible for me to attend because my mind is given too much time to ponder the negative possibilities.
3. Choose your mates for the battle carefully! The person attending the event with me knew how difficult the crowd would be for me and made every effort to help me through it. When I became overwhelmed with the crowd, a member of my party directed me to a quiet area to recenter. It did not take me long at all to regain my bearings and be able to continue along our way to our seats despite a long walk and a lot of people to get through. In the past, others have reacted to my fear in far less supportive ways causing me to utterly fail in my attempts to overcome. They probably did not realize they were making it harder for me, so no one is to blame really for my previous failure…. but the point is, the right support can = success.
4. I knew I had permission from myself and those in my party to leave if the experience proved to be too much for me or just became overstimulating in general. We stayed through nearly the entire concert, but this permission did come into play towards the end of the event. We left the event slightly early not because of my fear of any crowds, but from the stimuli of the light show on my seizure disorder.
5. Leaving a little early can help you not have to fight the same crowd twice. By either showing up early and/or leaving early or late, you can effectively avoid having to fight crowds too much. It was a far different experience walking out of the event than it had been walking into the event.
videos from the event
Links on social anxiety, Ptsd, and Related articles:
social anxiety from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anxiety
NIMH social anxiety: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/social-phobia-social-anxiety-disorder/index.shtml
Related posts on Kiefair.com
Cannabis Activism Home Movies from the Kiefair Journey
Weight Gain Journey of an Intractably Nauseous Stomach
PTSD People and Passive Aggressive People… a toxic mix
Skilled Grower/Cannabis Extract maker in need of room to rent and grow
 I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people seeking help finding housing. She encouraged those in state with specialized cannabis knowledge (grow, extraction, familiarity with colorado cannabis laws and any other nonmonetary “pluses” you bring to the table) to write an ad seeking a roomate. Those of you out of state seeking to make the exodus to colorado (or another legal state) have a different set of advise from Bree. She says you should move to the state of your choice in an RV or travel trailer if at all possible. This gives you a “home” while you are looking for places in state. It allows you to try out different areas to get a feel for the towns and if you really want to be there. This also allows you to take the expenses of your move in smaller chunks. You have the expense of the rv and the gas $ to get to the state you choose, then time to recover financially for a few months while you house/apartment hunt. This also frees you from depending on someone in state who may or may not have your best interests at heart (I know of mothers being encouraged to move to a legal state mostly so some activist can make a bunch of money dragging the sick kid to rallies and filling their own pocket instead of the child’s needs). Breezy wants to remind everyone that the housing market for rentals in colorado moves so fast that it took her 5 months to find a place that met her personal needs. Even with a lack of internet access, she is getting questions along these lines on a very regular basis. I hope these tips help folks both in and out of state in tough positions. The ad Fall is coming and soon it will be time to plant your cannabis for your indoor grows ready for winter. Who in colorado has a room to rent. I have been living with my ex husband for the past year and it has been nice, however I really need my own space For many months now, I had been trying to make art sales in hopes saving up for an RV, but I have only been able to put less than $200 away towards that goal, and very little of that came from art sales. I got a seed donation of $100 when I started the savings fund, and have put every cent of profit from the art (aside from profits that went into donating art pieces to fundraisers for cannabis patients in need). I just need a room to rent, access to a bathroom and kitchen. I don’t eat much (so limited use of your kitchen, obviously i find my own food) and I don’t leave my room much. I’m a cancer patient and chronically ill. I just want to teach what I know, tend to plants, do my art and writing, and rest. What I really want is to find a situation where I can grow. Here is a video from one of my former grows to prove I have skills Video of grow skills |
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the ladies in the above video are Sour Diesel Strain. It was grown for a private caregiver for the care of his patients.
So, Do you find yourself with an extra room you need rented out and extra space you’d like to fill with a grow but you just don’t have the grow skills yet?
Or maybe you have a grow and an extra bedroom and need someone around to make cannabis cure oil, kief, cannabis butter, and/or other infusions with your trim?
Do you find yourself just wishing there was someone knowledgeable around you had in person to show you how to navigate the hemp rope maze that is cannabis healing?
Well, I’m looking for a place to stay with you. I am a proficient cannabis cure oil (phoenix tears) maker having apprenticed 2 years with a master maker before going out on my own. These skills are going to waste in my current location to the detriment of many suffering patients. I will be very up front about the fact that not everyone likes my personality. Everyone knows I’m an eccentric artist, so having an area to isolate myself when I happen to be more eccentric than usual is essential for the happiness of all. Another way to say this is, I have PTSD, and need my space. Dont let that bit of honesty frighten you off.
I’m a loving, giving roommate so long as everyone keeps up on their ends of bargains. I’m willing to pay rent and chip in all the way around, but I’m pretty low income and VERY interested in trading some of my skills in payment for a portion of the rent. If i’m growing for your profit, you provide the supplies, i provide the skills and we decide on a % of the harvest weight that is my wages for work. I am a valid redcard holder who is allowed to grow 18 plants on my own. Someone with an RV sitting on their property or with a guest outbuildings of some type would be ideal…heck, I’d even prolly start making payments to buy the rv off ya.
On location: i dont really care so long as the roomies want a skilled grower and extraction person to learn from. preferably people more able bodied than i so i can share my brain with their muscles? I’d prefer to be out in the country somewhere at high altitude.
I’d love a secluded spot up in the mountains or out in the country where I can grow indoors and out. If you or someone you know has a situation that would fit any or all of these conditions, pleas contact me. Send me a pm, call 3034340429 , or email btokeefer@gmail.com
I’d like to remain in colorado if at all possible. I’m looking to spend no more than $300/month on the room, plus I can chip in at least $50 TOTAL more towards utilities and internet. MUST have internet without data usage restrictions. My activism depends on that. I would love to be up in the mountains somewhere.
If you wish to buy some art please visit: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtofBreezyKiefair?ref=l2-shopheader-name
I can be commissioned to do custom digital and other medium pieces for all your website and home decor needs. Just inquire by calling 303-434-0429 or emailing me btokeefer@gmail.com
i’d like something old and simple in an rv that runs and the appliances work (water, toilet, stove, etc) ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MUST WORK TOO
something like the image below
Kiefair.com DIY cannabis and more 
