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Old Apr 15, 2012, 08:36 AM
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*freak* *freak* is offline
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Member Since: May 2009
Location: 2 steps behind insanity
Posts: 712
Thank you all for your replies, I can relate to so many things that have been said here.
I'm making arrangements to go to Northern Europe for the summer and live in eco-villages. Last year I spent the summer on organic farms and I liked it, so this year I'm bringing the experience a step further. It's hard because of the damn social phobia but that's also why I feel I need to do this. In a community like that where people live and work together I'll be forced to socialize

And it looks like I need to explain a few things that are not 100% from my original post.
IceCreamKid: I didn't say that I'm irritated by people just because they ask me how I'm doing. What gets on my nerves are all these social conventions that I find useless and hypocrytical. For example. When you meet someone you have to say it's nice to meet them, ask how they're doing and shake their hand, all of this while making eye contact. Now, 90% of the time it's not nice to meet a person: I either don't know yet if they're nice or it will turn out later that we won't get along. Aside from this, I have a slight fear of germs (that used to be severe), so shaking hands is quite unpleasant for me. And about eye contact, well that's something I've always found extremely difficult and even though I can force myself to look people in the eye it's still far from a feeling I'm comfortable with. But imagine what would happen if I behaved like I really want to: no handshake, no greeting, staring at the floor and whispering an unconvincing "hi".
You can't deny that this would be considered unacceptable. Just like you can't deny that our society's rules are based on a certain standard that someone like me can not reach.
I'll give another example. I've been having some problems with the website of my credit card company. The only way to get assistance is by calling them. I've been putting this phone call off for months now because I have phone phobia, another wonderful aspect of social anxiety. And I could list many many more incidents like this one, where I had to give up things I needed because I couldn't bring myself to do what was required, which is something everybody else wouldn't mind doing at all.

This is what I had in mind when I said I'm not like most other people and I'll never be able to conform. I didn't mean that those suffering from a mental illness aren't normal, or anything along those lines, AT ALL. What I'm saying is that everything around me is made in a certain way and I happen to have a problem with most of it.
I hope my words didn't offend anyone, that wasn't my intention, but I'm sorry if they did.

Thank you all again for your replies, I appreciate every one of them

(((Flipside)))
(((Dailyhealing)))
(((ICeCreamKid)))
(((loocoti)))
(((Trippin2.0)))
(((Morghana)))
(((Puffyprue)))
(((KeepGoing8)))
__________________
• A bearer of a shattered soul and a mind all ripped and torn

• I will rather learn to enjoy misery than partake a life of hypocrisy
Thanks for this!
dailyhealing