4myself said:
Over the years I have tried to build up an image of being a strong person who doesn't care what anyone thinks and doesnt need help from anyone. It worked. Now I just feel bad I don't want to be a burden on anyone so I come in here and vent my feelings.
The problem with that is, every time you do find yourself caring what someone thinks, you will feel that you are weak again. As soon as I realised that having any phobia didn't make me an innately 'weaker' person, my self-esteem rocketed from the depths to only a little below average. Remember, anyone can get a phobia. People who fear stairs aren't any less brave than those who don't. Some people who can't use stairs go sky-diving for a hobby
And people who get called scaredy-cat, who won't go on roller-coasters or watch horror films or take risks of any kind, are
not the same people who have a social phobia. I bet there are things some of us have done on here that most people would find too scary.
Basically, irrational fear does not equal weak character. Imagine how people you know would cope if they had to deal with the same irrational feelings about people that you get. We can't know how they'd react. And you can't know what kind of person you'd be if you'd never developed a social phobia (unless you get rid of it
). So you can be a strong person with social phobia. Or a weak person without it. But I guess we'd all prefer to be strong without it 8)