trippinmickey, I spend a lot of my time alone in my house. It is extremely difficult for me to be in a crowd. All the commotion confuses me and makes my head spin. Then, although I know it is not true, it feels like everybody is staring at me--like they know how anxious I am--they are just waiting for me to do something stupid. Drinking and taking drugs did calm me down enough to be able to be out in public. Now, I try to get out when I am feeling strong, but I don't force myself to stay at an event very long or to go to a bunch of them. Maybe you should talk to your pdoc about some meds for anxiety. They might be able to give you something to help.