hi. i'm new. i don't mean to be negative, but i'm in a few other communities & i tend to think that it's all bullshit. i honestly don't think that anyone really cares at all about anyone else in the communities. the whole thing is just a platform to bitch & moan about yourself, but no one ever really cares. one of the communities that i'm a part o actually had a girl who had cut herself (apparently) blogging about WHAT she should do! hello? cry for help?  

the whole this makes someone who IS socially anxious feel even worse bc it's hard for me to share about myself & then, it's just heartbreaking to have it ignored!!!!

it's ridiculous.

anyone have any thoughts? 

The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.

Anne Morrow Lindberg

A young woman who had binged and vomited for thirteen years before finding OA considers herself well qualified to speak on people-pleasing. Here’s what she told her group:

"I seemed to think I had to go through life with a smile pasted on my face. I was sweet and accommodating and polite. A good egg. Of course, none of it was sincere. How could it be when, inside, I was angry and resentful and afraid? My false front was so exhausting I had to make it up to myself somehow, and the one sure way to do that was to eat".

"The same exhaustion overtakes me today whenever I try so hard to make a good impression that I am not being myself. But it’s all right to make mistakes. I am not perfect. I’m making progress and I’m very grateful for the chance to do it."

For today: Doing or saying something I don’t mean costs me more in the long run than I’m willing to pay. I am as honest as I can be without either being rude or fawning over anyone.

Well, I have another problem, which is driving.
I got my license about three months ago and I basically stopped driving, because I didn't have a car (I do now) and because I had to study a lot for my final exam. Now that I graduated from high school and I have my mum's old car, I have loads of time to do it but I'm actually scared of driving. I always feel like horrible accidents are going to happen, I feel like I forgot everything about driving, even if that's not true, because I went driving a couple of times and, even if my mum's car is old and different from the one I used to drive during my lessons, I was able to do it.
Now that school's over, my mother says I should start driving again, and she wants me to take the car after lunch (it's 12.40 pm now and I'm having lunch in an hour or so). Can you imagine how scared I am? I don't even know why. I guess I fear that everybody's gonna laugh at me, or that I won't be able to drive or park, or that I'll smash the car or something.
I just don't know how to solve this problem. Maybe I should take some other lessons, but I really don't want to waste time and money anymore.
I mean, I got my license, so I cant' be that bad, can I?
I wish I weren't so bloody paranoid, or anxious.

Well, I have another problem, which is driving.
I got my license about three months ago and I basically stopped driving, because I didn't have a car  (I do now) and because I had to study a lot for my final exam. Now that I graduated from high school and I have my mum's old car, I have loads of time to do it but I'm actually scared of driving. I always feel like horrible accidents are going to happen, I feel like I forgot everything about driving, even if that's not true, because I went driving a couple of times and, even if my mum's car is old and different from the one I used to drive during my lessons, I was able to do it.
Now that school's over, my mother says I should start driving again, and she wants me to take the car after lunch (it's 12.40 pm now and I'm having lunch in an hour or so). Can you imagine how scared I am? I don't even know why. I guess I fear that everybody's gonna laugh at me, or that I won't be able to drive or park, or that I'll smash the car or something.
I just don't know how to solve this problem. Maybe I should take some other lessons, but I really don't want to waste time and money anymore. 
I mean, I got my license, so I cant' be that bad, can I?
I wish I weren't so bloody paranoid, or anxious. 

There's this guy that I know. Well, actually, I don't really know him, just know of him. Recently, he's taken to talking to me on MySpace. Because of this, he found out that I'm a big Star Wars fan (and he is too), so he wants to hang out one weekend and watch the movies.
Problem is that he's really really outgoing. He has tons of friends and all of the things that I wish I had in my life. So I'm nervous about hanging out with him. I think he's an amazingly cool guy and I want to be able to spend some time with him, but I'm afraid that I'll go bizarre on him. And because I'm so nervous, I've started to ignore him and not talk back to him and if I keep that up, he's going to stop trying altogether.
So question is: if you were in my situation, what would you do? Would you just be upfront with him and tell him why you're slightly reluctant?
I don't want him to give up on me!