so i’ve recently gotten into a long distance relationship which is difficult as is without having social anxiety. my boyfriend and i are both gamers and i’ve recently downloaded one of his favorite games. he’s been very excited to play it with me since he spends most of his time playing with his other friends. i also have been looking forward to playing this particular game with him since i want to show an interest in things he likes.

however the issue lies with my social anxiety. he keeps asking me to join his xbox live with a few of his other friends which scares the hell out of me. even calling him alone can sometimes be a struggle on my part due to my anxiety so the thought of talking to other people i have never met is terrifying. i feel terrible making a promise to him that i’d play when i full know that might not be a promise i can keep which is fault on my part. 

i’ve played online games with other strangers before and so the reaction of other men towards female gamers isn’t the best. a lot of the time they can be toxic towards me which doesn’t help if i’ve never played the game before since they’re likely to call me a ‘fake gamer’ or ‘poser’ and such. 

i know my boyfriend isn’t intentionally pressuring me but i just feel so guilty that i can’t enjoy something together because of my anxiety. any suggestions? i have no idea what to do and just want to make him happy :/