I just thought it was just me!
By the way this is my first post here.
I wanted to jump into this conversation because I am the same way. Every time I am somewhere - grocery store, school, wherever, I tend to look down so I don't 'run' into someone I may know as they might come up and say hi. I have had people tell me they saw me someplace but "looked like I was in my own world" and didn't want to bother me...then that makes me feel bad and of course I have to nit pick and scrutinize what they said til I make it out to more than it really was, which in turn, brings on anxiety again. It's like a never ending cycle.
Also, I've been invited to parties, events, dinners, you name it, and I always seem to make up an excuse. People are (and have) gotten very tired of my lousy excuses and this again makes me feel sad, guilty, angry with myself for acting like a fool, then in turn, again brings on anxiety and feelings like maybe I shouldn't be around people if that's how I tend to treat my 'friends' so I retreat back into myself, if that makes sense.