Hey!

I've been suffering from social phobia since high school when I was bullied (I was bullied when I was really young too). I used to be really extroverted and outgoing but after realizing that people I didn't even know were criticizing me and making fun of me I kind of shut off.

I've been working on trying to get back to being social lately and the last major setback I had was that apparently everyone at my university also thought I was weird (my friend told me that).

I have some friends and they're really great but they've been very few and I haven't really made any new friends since high school until as of late. I decided to take more initiative in everything (not even just socially related things) and try to see things and people positively! Everyone has their nice sides to them so I'd really like to focus on those parts. Maybe some people will dislike me for being like I am but hey I'll still like them although I can respect them not wanting to chat with me because it takes me a long time to open up to people and they're not used to that.

I actually made a topic about it in the self-help section for self-esteem but I think it's waiting for approval from the administration.

Anyway, I feel for you. I know suffering from social phobia isn't easy.