Tony,

Welcome to PC, I hope you find posting here to be helpful. You'll notice that people don't always just post about therapy itself -- feel free to write more about yourself and your journey and get some support as you figure out the therapy thing.

The thing with asking other people about whether you have a serious problem is that they may not be thinking about how distressing it is for YOU. I used to get a lot of "You seem fine, what do YOU need help with?" from others. But the thing is, the problems I have are distressing to ME, and make MY life harder. In fact, sometimes it's the people who know you well who are least able to see the things that are problematic, because they have seen you function with them for so long. I can see how all of the things you listed would make everyday life needlessly stressful, and I think therapy is a great idea.

It seems like a lot of your problems are related to feeling a strong need to know/control what others think of you, and simultaneously feeling like you can't figure out what others are thinking at all. That's quite a combination. This may seem a little out of nowhere, but how old are you? And which of these problems have been ongoing, and which are recent?

As others have said, none of us can tell you want kind of therapy will be best for you. I'd suggest reading up on different types and approaches to therapy, and picking out a few that resonate with you, then actually meet some therapists who take those approaches.

I mean, as I'm reading your concerns, I start thinking:
- Maybe CBT would help you, in that it's like behavioral training to help you read the social cues of others.
- But maybe more traditional psychotherapy would help, in that you spend more time looking inward and at your childhood, which can lead to a better understanding of where things are going wrong.
- And of psychotherapy methods, maybe a "blank slate" therapist would be good, since you have feelings that others are using you that you can explore by having a therapist who doesn't tell you what he/she is feeling and sees what you come up with.
- But maybe that would be TOO stressful, and a therapist who spends more time giving you feedback about he/she is really feeling would be better for easing your anxiety.
- Then again, given that you have so much trouble with lots of thoughts at once, maybe spending more time and going into more depth with something like psychoanalysis would be worthwhile.

So I can see it many ways. But only you can decide what will ultimately be the most helpful.

Perna gives good advice. Rule out any physical problems, and your doc can get you started with the referral process. You might have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the right therapist, but I do think you could really benefit from therapy. Best of luck to you