How afraid of people are you?

[!>Y\e5l-%h-NMw>cH]

You can also mention exactly why you're afraid or weary of people if you want too.

[GhostOnMagneticTape]

People petrify me... lack of trust and fear of what kind person they are plagues my mind really along with what they expect and think of me.

[karl-32]

petrified

i dont trust anyone and think the world is a cold dark place full of back-stabbing and fakery .

i am utterly reluctant to be involved with anyone . if somone gave me their number in the street and said "be my friend" id be very polite then dispose of it in the nearest bin.

its not just SA why i havnt got friends , its the way i behave if opportunitys are presented to me aswell.

i rarely let people in . The only people i do is women .... sometimes , when i get a relationship desire "pang"

[bunkoff]

I'm 8/9 on the scale as I can't help thinking that people are going to find me boring and view me as a pathetic loser.

[Warmer]

Originally Posted by Quiet bloke with cow

younger folk who seem to take the piss when they're in groups.

Your right there.

I'd say 8-9, depends on the day of course. I think people will think im boring, don't know what to say, am wierd, they'll think im just pathetic for not being comfortable.

[panoply]

im about 7/8 i think, for a long period i hated the whole human race because they made me scared, i'm religious now so had to knock that on the head and i feel better for it tbh.

[IRIS]

I voted 9

[ShyDoll]

5. I'm mostly terrified of them but also annoyed by them so put my number down a bit. I was gonna click 8 then I thought hah no thats not true, people don't terrify me 8, they annoy me 8!

[GoldFish]

yesterday at work there was a new member of staff on and i introduced myself and asked if this was their first job in this field to make conversation ...i honestly don't know what to talk about alot of the time...and she decided to take it the wrong and believed i was asking because she thought i thought she wasn't doing well or something and she asked me "did you ask me that question before because you don't think i'm performing well on my first day" ....i just responded with a "no way of course not, i'm not like that, i was just making conversation, i apologise if it seemed that way"....it was really very awkward and the worst possible way to start off, i felt quite low for the rest of the shift basically, so i think i'm partly afraid of myself as i am also of other people as well...when i'm feeling very nervous socially i just become awkward in conversation, not knowing where to begin in terms of conversation at work and most days i get to the end feeling very drained...alot of the time now i just stay quiet and don't say much because i dont feel like a smooth enough talker..

[Louise 5]

I'd probably say that I was more intimidated by other people then scared by them. When i'm in a group I'll start to compare myself to other people, especially those that I consider to be better than myself for whatever reason. I know that it's self destructive but i'm finding it a really hard habit to break

[helenjane]

I find people scary in 'real' life, i'm okay on the phone or online with people but outside is a different story, i sometimes think the internet is making that worse because i see this as a different world to the one outside and instead of attempting to sort out how i feel outside, i'm just being on the internet all the time to escape it all, i shut the outside world out and i know i can't keep doing this.

Younger people scare me alot more, people my age and under, they seem quite intimidating.

[Gaz_w]

I'm terrified of groups, I know it's stupid but I worry people will judge me. This morning I was gonna do some hill walking but the place I went was busy, I got to the car park had a bimble round the visitor centre and had to then get back into my car and drive home cos I started having a panic attack. If i'd been with someone I would have been fine but on my own I fall apart. But then if it's bust streets in town I'm fine with that and even go into town on weekends just to walk the streets and pretend I'm also just a normal person doing my normal shopping. i even buy things in shops I don't need just so I get to speak to people. My existence is becoming sadder and sadder, lol, I had hoped at 16 that I'd get a handle on my life and find a way to fit into society, 20 years later and I still haven't.

[indiegirl1980]

Petrified with strangers but am alright once I have got to know people (which usually takes about 3 months or longer). I don't really make friends any more though because people seem to lose interest in me and expect everything to happen instantly rather than take the time to get to know me.

[indiegirl1980]

Originally Posted by GoldFish

yesterday at work there was a new member of staff on and i introduced myself and asked if this was their first job in this field to make conversation ...i honestly don't know what to talk about alot of the time...and she decided to take it the wrong and believed i was asking because she thought i thought she wasn't doing well or something and she asked me "did you ask me that question before because you don't think i'm performing well on my first day" ....i just responded with a "no way of course not, i'm not like that, i was just making conversation, i apologise if it seemed that way"....it was really very awkward and the worst possible way to start off, i felt quite low for the rest of the shift basically, so i think i'm partly afraid of myself as i am also of other people as well...when i'm feeling very nervous socially i just become awkward in conversation, not knowing where to begin in terms of conversation at work and most days i get to the end feeling very drained...alot of the time now i just stay quiet and don't say much because i dont feel like a smooth enough talker..

Sounds like a reasonable enough question to me! Seems like she took it the wrong way because she was probably nervous as well.

[helenjane]

When i go out, i worry about getting attacked, mugged or robbed etc, it's not a really bad area i live in but when i read things on the news etc it makes me more and more nervous when i go out, i hate walking past big groups of teenagers, well i actually don't often, i'll cross the road.
I did actually get approached afew years ago by a man,(well that's happened afew times tbh), he kept pestering me while i was waiting at a bus stop, i was so nervous, i didn't make eye contact though, i try not to do that.
I worry all the time though when i'm out.
When i used to live in Essex, my boyfriend at the time got a flick knife held to his throat, i wasn't there at the time, they were attempting to rob him, he gave them his things though thankfully and they left him alone, that really scared me alot.

[danielv]

im totally not scared of younger people / teens / hoodies etc.

Ive got napoleon complex, I always want to "take on" or fight big(ger) guys :rolleyes:

[helenjane]

I wish i wasn't so scared of them, it's not only the males that can be intimidating, even some girls now seem to be really rough and even worse than some males can be, just the way they look at you sometimes, well i've had some dirty looks anyway (for no reason atall), they seem to have real attitudes, so much growing up to do

[Everleigh]

Originally Posted by teary

I find people scary in 'real' life, i'm okay on the phone or online with people but outside is a different story, i sometimes think the internet is making that worse because i see this as a different world to the one outside and instead of attempting to sort out how i feel outside, i'm just being on the internet all the time to escape it all, i shut the outside world out and i know i can't keep doing this.

Younger people scare me alot more, people my age and under, they seem quite intimidating.

same here! I find online I can be myself whereas with real people i find it very hard to come out of my shell. I also get pangs of anxiety and sheer panic/dread when I see a gang of young people (fear of ridicule or insults being thrown my way) or a young, attractive man walking towards me. put these two together -a group of young men i just want to hide.

[Everleigh]

Originally Posted by GoldFish

yesterday at work there was a new member of staff on and i introduced myself and asked if this was their first job in this field to make conversation ...i honestly don't know what to talk about alot of the time...and she decided to take it the wrong and believed i was asking because she thought i thought she wasn't doing well or something and she asked me "did you ask me that question before because you don't think i'm performing well on my first day" ....i just responded with a "no way of course not, i'm not like that, i was just making conversation, i apologise if it seemed that way"....it was really very awkward and the worst possible way to start off, i felt quite low for the rest of the shift basically, so i think i'm partly afraid of myself as i am also of other people as well...when i'm feeling very nervous socially i just become awkward in conversation, not knowing where to begin in terms of conversation at work and most days i get to the end feeling very drained...alot of the time now i just stay quiet and don't say much because i dont feel like a smooth enough talker..

i agree with what the other posters have said. I dont think there was anything wrong with ur question (infact ive asked ppl the same thing at work as its common ground, to ask so hav u worked in this field before?). i think she 'jumped the gun' abit, sounds like she may hav been a bit tense herself.