Being bullied has made me ashamed of who i am

[Hypa22]

is it normal to be so ashamed of yourself that you barely leave the house?

It is social anxiety, and yet, when i'm with people, I'd say I'm very social. I am well liked by... i'd say 80% of the people who meet me.

 

However

 

I never let anyone get close because I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. This is because of the bullying i've received at the hands of friends and boyfriends in the past. This is not to say that i did not deserve criticism, but, when given the choice to go to dinner with friends or stay in, I stay in. I have my friends at work, and some friends outside of work, but I usually want to be alone, by myself, and the reason is fear and shame.

 

I don't want to be this way. I don't want to think I am doing something wrong all of the time when I speak and when I have fun. I used to be extremely strong and social, and then something broke, and I only heard the people who were critical of me. I still only hear the critical things that are said about me and none of the compliments (which are of a greater number than the criticisms).

 

I hear this is a common feeling among people.. how do you cope?

[imsuperman]

I'm sorry that you have suffered bullying from friends and boyfriends.

 

All your life, people will try to put you down. It's human nature. People put others down as an attempt to make them feel better about themselves.

 

I think to cope, you have to never be ashamed of who you are. This is achieved through the realization that how others perceive you is their problem, not yours. If they don't want tot get to know the real you, they don't deserve to know the real you.