I used to be very direct. I would search people's gaze, make eye contact with everyone in a shopping mall. Most strangers seem to be uncomfortable with this in a big city - at least where I live.

But lately I have found myself avoiding eye contact with people who are my friends - people who have shown me they care. Since I started sensing people's thoughts and feelings without even seeing their faces, (people sitting in front of me with their backs to me) I have felt stark naked. People can see straight into me, and their thoughts are not nice. How can I look them in the eyes?! One or two in a closed room maybe, but in a crowd? I feel stripped of every defence, and need to hide from their searching senses.

Does anyone here understand what is going on? Does anyone experience the same thing? My pdoc has no idea that my social fears have these experiences behind them. I can't tell her.