It is hard being a social phobic. Everyone you meet, you have to have your guard up with, to some extent. My guard is even up around my family now, because I'm always worried they will ask about uni and city life, and I will make a Freudian slip and say "I don't really know what I want to do if I graduate uni" and "I don't have a city life". It just seems that the only place to be and act like my literal self is when there is no-one else around. I'm even scared of talking to my youngest step-brothers, because of the chance that they might think I'm a wierdo and tell all their friends at school how strange I am.
I've only really got one friend in the city, and that is only because he is always approaching ME, asking ME if I wanna do stuff, or initiating online conversations with me. I never approach anyone myself, try to make my own friends, ask anyone if they wanna do stuff, or even go out at all for that matter, unless invited.
Moreover, when I meet someone or start talking too them, I am always thinking "How do I look? Does my skin have blemishes? Do I look fat? Do I look like a stupid hippy with my long hair? Will they look down on me like I'm proletarian debris? Will they start talking about their life and how awesome it is? Will they start inquiring and probing into my life? ****, I'll have to make stuff up! What if they find out I lied to them? I won't be able to look them in the face if I meet them again!" Hence I am usually thinking of how to get away as quickly as possible.
So yeah, I'm alone much of the time. And it isn't always fabulous. Sometimes it is genuinely lonely.