I think of myself as a very insecure person. I get paranoid in social situations and I’m frequently suspicious of people’s motives, particularly those of men. I assume that when I hear laughter from another group of people, say on a bus or something, that they are laughing about me. I hate leaving the room when I’ve been sitting with a big group of people because I assume they all talk about me to each other once I’ve left: about my appearance and my personality. It gets so bad that I feel almost paralysed and I get panicky sweats. I’ve never told anyone this and the funny thing is that I seem really confident in social situations. I can talk to people really easily and am quick to make jokes. Yet, despite my exterior social camouflage, I can’t shake this feeling of paranoia.
