Re your locker dream - high school anxieties stayed with me for years, and I often had exactly that dream where I'd go to my locker and couldn't remember the combination. Then I'd have to go to the office and admit to them that I forgot my combination again.
My first therapist was a marriage counselor that my now-ex and I went to when I was 26. If not for trying to save my marriage, I doubt I ever would have gone to a therapist or counselor. I got lucky because the counselor was very good at helping us express our feelings and needs, while he did not get personally involved as friends often do. He focused a lot on "reality" too - what is actually happening. I was so impressed with his skills that I started taking psychology courses, eventually getting a degree in human development and then a masters in education and counseling. I think that a good counselor can be a godsend, but if you first go to someone who gets you feeling worse instead of better, you might need to find someone else. "Shopping" for a professional who helps you isn't how most people think of getting a therapist, but a good match can really help. Among other things, you need to both like each other.
Are you a person who can learn from books? There are some great self-help books available. You can go to a bookstore and check out the self-help section, or check out online bookstores.
After my first counselor, I decided that it was a resource that I wanted to keep in my life. I used to make new connections by looking under social services in the yellow pages of the phone book. Currently I am ill and homebound, but I have a social worker that I like very much who comes and visits me once a month. She is very good at helping a person focus on what they need, and she is also personable and friendly.
What inspires you, or comforts you? What did you love to do as a child? What do you look forward to? And what are your strengths?