I was very depressed the day I joined. I was just searching for an outlet for my emotions since the forums that I go on, frown upon the bitching and moaning threads. :/ Basicly they say, if you have problems, just PM your friends about it but what if my friends can't help? a majority of my friends are actually younger than me and, ironicly, look up to me like an older sister.
I needed somewhere to vent because I know in the past if I couldn't I'd bottle it all up and just the mention of the phrase "Are you OK?" made me break down into tears. Now, I'm kind of an emotion-less zombie because of it, because I try to hide my emotions from my parents and boyfriend and none of them can tell whether I'm happy or sad. (my boyfriend can sometimes, but most of the time I can act like everything's OK when in reality, all in my mind is doom.)
If there is anything I have learned from the slight ways I've been recovering, which have been through thought process alone... It is that opening up your thoughts and emotions to those around you is one of the most important parts of overcoming social anxiety. If we act as if we are ashamed of our thoughts, feelings and ideas, the more ashamed we will grow, the condition will worsen. Pretend that there is nobody around you, and act aloud as if you have nothing to hide, and it will begin to feel like you have nothing to hide, whether people pay you the attention you most likely crave for these feelings or not. They may be ignored, or they may be acknowledged. If ignored, you may be able to realize the minimal attention that is actually placed on you. If acknowledged, you will most likely gain people who want to help you, and an understanding amongst those who love and want to help you. And if you are insulted because of opening up, it is because of the other person's own fears.
When I began this challenge, of showing whatever it is that I feel or think, I was a crying mess around my entire family. My mom insulted me everytime she saw me crying, until I told her I was crying BECAUSE she was insulting me and not helping me. I know she has a severe fear of emotions, and she stepped up and hugged me. That moment meant a lot, and showed me that a lot of the time we are shunned by others because they are terrified of us, many times because we are real, and we are challenging fears they too have. If they insult, they fear us, because they share the fear we are conquering. Sometimes if we are open, they may understand our fears and be compelled to overcome their own as well.