Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which is a specific kind of CBT. There's a better explanation here.

I have fear of both strangers and people I'm close with, but in different ways. With strangers it's more immediate and constant. They don't know me, so I have to act like a normal person, whereas my boyfriend knows me well enough that he will understand my idiosyncrasies, I don't have to try so hard. A stranger has no sense of me, and the little things that might make up for my social ineptitude. All they see is what I present to them, and I'm not very good at presenting myself. I just want to disappear. I wish a computer could do the part of the job where I have to talk to people. It could, really. A kiosk would be just as effective as me, without the strain of small talk, which also scares me.

With my boyfriend or family, I don't constantly fear rejection, because they've already put up with me this long. But when something does happen, like falling into depression, or having to give bad news, or fess up to a mistake, that's when I get scared. It's a different kind of fear, more rational it seems to me, because I can imagine the repercussions. I always think if I make my boyfriend mad, he might leave me. Or never trust me again. Or a million other real, rational outcomes. Whereas with strangers, I really couldn't tell you what I'm afraid of. I know I shouldn't care, since they don't know me. Although at work, I do see the same people a lot, so there is more of a pressure to look like I care, because I'm almost always the person they see when they come in. I'm the face of the company, even if 99% of the mistakes that make customers mad aren't my fault. I feel like I'm supposed to form a rapport with our regular customers. And I have with a few, but only the least threatening of them. The ones that are usually smiling and sometimes chat me up, I'm not so afraid of. But the ones who come in looking like this is just one stop on their day of mindless errands, or the ones who have been rude, or even look like they might be rude, I hate dealing with. Sometimes I feel like they can see my weakness. It makes me uncomfortable, but I flip-flop between that and feeling like it's a good thing, since if they know I'm afraid, at least they won't think I'm purposely being aloof, which apparently is how I sometimes come off.

The only time I really feel no threat at all from someone is if our roles are reversed, and I'm the customer. Cashiers don't bother me at all, they may as well be part of the scenery. Asking a floor associate for help in a retail store makes me slightly uncomfortable, but nothing like other situations. I think it's this sense that retail workers aren't really people; they're just part of the big machine that is a retail establishment. It's an odd thought that I think most people feel but won't admit to. Having worked in retail and seen it from both sides though, I'm pretty confident that that's how most people feel. Plus, when I'm the consumer I'm in control. I can chat with the cashier or essentially ignore them, it's up to me. I won't have socialization forced on me, usually. The only exception is when a thick accent keeps me from understanding what they're saying to me. Then I start to sweat. I know it makes everyone uncomfortable, but for me it's worse. I'm extremely sensitive to other people feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed because I feel it so keenly, and I'm terrified I'm going to make them feel bad if I let them know I can't understand them. In any other situation -- at work, walking down the street, meeting someone new -- I feel like we're at the other person's home field. I let other people dictate the terms of our interaction, because I don't know what they want and am too afraid of choosing wrong.

I dunno, I'm going to see a psychiatrist soon for evaluation, I haven't been evaluated since I was around 17 and I'm now 25. We'll see what the psych says, but I kinda feel that the constancy of my fear lends itself to being a PD. Personality disorders are seen in long-standing patterns of behavior, and affect every aspect of life because they color the way you see the world. My fear of disapproval is like that. It stops me from doing things I would like to, it makes me feel trapped into responsibilities, like work, that other people will rationalize and agree willingly to. Of course I work for the money, and my future. But the bigger motivator is fear. In everything, I feel like I'm either running away from a threat, or running to a safe place. It makes me feel like I don't even get to make choices. The only choice possible is to escape.