Public transport gives me anxiety.

Still.....

@geckobat yes for sure. It also doesn't work for all situations.

@ryleyyg I appreciate every comment here too. I have no one in my group of friends and family who are in a similar situation either with my psychiatric or physical disabilities. And I don't qualify for government supports because I'm not considered sick enough by their measuring stick. I've worked really hard to adapt to my situation, so by the time they evaluated me a couple of months ago I had made such strides on my own that I no longer qualify for government supports - as things are now. So that's why I joined this forum, for group therapy, peer support. And moving around is exactly what I'm working on right now. So thank you for starting this thread.

As to why we have problems being in social environments is probably a really complex, twisty network of wiring in our head going all the way back to childhood. It's hard to tell even if it's staring us in our face, like bullying or another childhood trauma. It's not like Hansel and Gretel collecting the bread crumbs along a single path in trying to get back home to our True Self. There are bread crumbs all over the forest I'm sure for all of us. I think what really matters is just starting from the here and now and not judging it as being good or bad or the right way or the wrong way. Because the judgement is really irrelevant. It just boils down to the fact that moving around is a necessity, and therefore if you can't move around you have to figure out how to move around. So my approach is to just set to it and figure out how to embrace my fear and my anxiety and use those as my guide to let me know how to learn to move in this world. Simply put, I just want to be comfortable in the world. Perhaps you can try that approach? It's like @Littlefatfriend says, to love yourself. I think I'm this case accepting your fear and anxiety is the best way to love yourself.

Regarding your thinking of others, I wonder if you might find the advice my brother gave me about 15 years ago. I used to ruminate endlessly about what others were thinking about me and what they really meant by what they did and said. I used to really struggle with paranoia that fed the ruminating. This advice is so simple it sounds insignificant but it changed my perception of the world.

#1.

ME - LOOKING FOR HIDDEN THOUGHTS: Thinking a million things about what a person is thinking about me.

MY BROTHER: You have no way of reading their mind. Eliminate the possibility of knowing.

#2.

ME - LOOKING FOR HIDDEN MEANING: Thinking a million things about what a person really meant by what they said or did.

MY BROTHER: The possibilities may be endless. Focus only on the surface possibility - exactly what they said or did. No hidden meanings. Take things at face value.

#3.

ME - LOOKING FOR MOTIVE: Thinking a million reasons of why they did or said something.

MY BROTHER: The possibilities may be endless. You have no way of knowing this. Eliminate the possibility of knowing.

Over the years, this has changed pretty much every interaction I have and it has freed up soooooooo much brain space and heart space.

Well, that's all I've got. I hope you or someone else found this helpful. If not, it's nice to think that perhaps it's helpful.

This is so awesome to have you people in my life to talk about this stuff. 😊