why am i afraid of people. does anyone know. of course not

[Topper]

when I'm around one, I know they're lying to me with their kindness; they want to destroy me. I have to give them what they want so they'll let me go


I want to adore them but I can only do it from a distance. the man who smiles at me every day, I'm fond of him now, but come tomorrow when I see him he will have a gun in his pocket

I can't look at their eyes when I talk




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[Secretly Pretentious]

Why are you afraid of people? Because people are scary! That's why!

Personally, my fear of people stems more from the possibility of negative judgement rather than potential cruelty/harm. I'm not afraid of people pulling a gun on me or trying to hurt/embarrass me. I don't think anybody's out to get me. However, I am extremely fearful of people thinking I'm stupid or boring or incompetent or ugly. I suppose it's silly to give people's opinions of me so much weight. But I can't help but view it as a reflection of my self worth.

Now that I think about it, I suppose it's kind of strange that I don't see that many threads about the fear of being deliberately hurt and taken advantage of. (Maybe I just don't notice them because I can't relate as well.) I wonder if that can be classified as a type of Social Anxiety Disorder or if it's a completely different anxiety disorder.

[Denise]

It's just knowing what some people can do .. that makes acknowledging what most people don't do.. A challenge.