Berries, with the exception of the OCD symptoms -- I don't wear gloves, but do carry Purell gel in my backpack -- you are speaking for me. I also feel guilty for not working, but at the same time know that I just wouldn't 'fit in' in any work situation right now. I also struggle with feelings of low self worth b/c I'm not employed.

The sad truth is that I'm just not up to the social games involved in the employment sector. In my experience, people are rarely, if ever, "real" at work.

I guess people aren't employed to be "real" though; they are employed to fill a role. Roles involve scripts. staging. etc.

Ever heard of the book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Irving Goffman (sp?)? It's a whole book on how people "dramatize" their "roles" at work and in private life. This book was like the Rosetta Stone for me. It explained my sense of unreality in a lot of social situations that seem suspiciously . . . Scripted. Staged. Fictional.

That's because they are!!! (according to Goffman).

Maybe you're just "missing the script" like some of the rest of us! Mike