Hello, my fellow loners! This question would mainly be towards those who CHOOSE to spend their time alone, although all loners can feel free to provide your input.

I have been diagnosed with a "schizoid style" but not the actual disorder...I do have several symptoms though. Spend most of my time alone, and when I DO hang out with people, 99.9% of the time it's with 3 family members, the only people I am truly close to. I only have 1 friend, who I don't see often.

Today I went out with these 3 family members, and nothing about them bothered me, really. But I felt out of sorts when we went out to different places. First off, I was squinting, because my house does not have adequate lighting...so I'm guessing that the bright lights forced me to squint my eyes. Second, the people, voices, and unfamiliar surroundings just made me feel like it wasn't real, it didn't feel right. It wasn't fear, by any means. I wasn't anxious...I think it may have been derealization, actually.

When I got home and spent some time doing isolated activities, I began to feel more like my normal self. However, the feeling lingered for a while afterwards.

Has anyone else experienced derealization in public places?