[yamyam]

I feel disappointed in anybody who feels justified in fearing and shunning all of society just because there are terrible people in the world. Humanity is deeply flawed and it's selfish as a survival instinct. That does not mean that most people are supervillains who would hurt you as soon as look at you. Most people in this world are ordinary people who do the best they can and try to get along with others. To think anything else isn't realistic, it's a problem. A certain amount of pessimism is healthy, but there comes a point when it just becomes paranoia. Have you considered that maybe the reason people here aren't going 'Eureka! You've found the solution to all our problems! Our saviour!' is because many of us just might be better at dealing with social anxiety than you are at the moment? Calling yourself justified and rational just means that you're unwilling to face the issue. You're prepared to villify everybody else before accepting that maybe, just maybe, you might have a phobia that needs some support.

I'm not deviant and crazy and neither are you. That doesn't mean that everybody else is. Wanting to be able to answer the phone without my palms sweating and my heart racing doesn't mean that I'm kissing up to the bad guys. Nor does wanting to be able to walk through the streets without feeling like under a spotlight and everybody is laughing at me. The therapist I saw for the first time a couple of days ago - she was kind and attentive and probably not an egomaniac, but I could barely stand to face her. That just might be something about myself that I need to change. It's never as simple as 'us versus them'.