Yes, totally have it.

and TJ Relic, this is so true: >>It always feels like everything about me is being criticized by every passing person. <<

I'm OK and functional in the insulated worlds of my home and office. Also pretty okay from jungles to high deserts with total strangers.

Where I have difficulty functioning is in the community in which I live. I often procrastinate on simple things like going to the grocery store or the dry cleaners because of it, and going to church or the local discount store is difficult. There are one or two local restaurants where I am okay, but I often get something in a drive-through and sit in my truck alone to eat lunch.

The common thread, as far as I can tell, is that I tend to avoid going places where I may run into and be forced to speak to someone I may know, however remotely. Send me to the mall in the next town among strangers and I'm okay. I'm okay crossing the country by plane or at the beach or doing anything "active."

I'm also okay at my job. People come into my office to see me -- on purpose! (I'm a vet). I figure it's because they want to and I am totally professional and 100% confident in my business.

It's when I try to function in this small town community that I get freaked out. I even have difficulty wanting to ride with LBC. I'm always the slowest one...imagine they laugh at me behind my back, etc. So I usually ride my bike alone.

I am confident enough to go shopping in nearby larger cities, to go to a movie by myself or eat by myself--I can even go to a WALMART by myself and not feel weird in a town in which I am a stranger. My assessment is that people who are total strangers have no preconceived notion of who I am or what I am like.

I can and do make friends--but it takes forever and they are few.

Meds have not helped. So many have been tried. I get side effects from some; others don't work. Ativan helps but it clashes with some other things I'm taking and I get groggy.

I do think exercise and eating well help. I try to go heavy on omega 3's, citrus and sunlight and since I have, I seem to do better. I also credit some of that for not having had the flu or even a cold in quite a while