Help! I stopped going to the gym for 4 months to study for a major exam, and now I'm terrified of being judged for losing my progress.

Hey everyone. The title basically sums it up, but I really need some advice on getting over this mental block.
I was actually in a really solid routine, hitting the gym consistently for 6 months and finally getting comfortable. Then, I had to drop everything and go into complete lockdown mode to prepare for a massive entrance exam. I'm talking a total scorched-earth policy-locked up my devices, head buried in the books, and absolutely zero time, energy, or diet control for the gym for a solid four months.

Now that the exam is finally out of the way, I desperately want to get back to lifting. The problem? During that hiatus, I lost practically all the muscle mass I had built. My anxiety is paralyzing me. I'm terrified to walk back in there, see the same regulars, and feel them silently judging me, thinking, "Wow, this guy has been around for almost a year, vanished, and came back looking smaller."

Logically, I know they probably don't care, but the "gymtimidation" is hitting me way harder now than it did on day one. It feels like starting over, but with an added layer of shame. Has anyone else dealt with losing their newbie gains after a forced hiatus? How do you get over the feeling that everyone is mentally tracking your regression?

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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/1utdxhx/help_i_stopped_going_to_the_gym_for_4_months_to/