Mental Illness Fellowship Northern Territory

Hey @Jacques,

Similar here in some ways. For decades I had almost no contact with extended family either. It's only been in recent years that I have started to reconnect and even visit some of them when I take my yearly trip to see Mum in Melbourne. Previously I was simply too messed up to be able to handle it for the most part. My over-sensitivity means that I can be rocked and get paranoid about lots of things that people say or do in general, even when there really isn't much (or any) bad intent behind it.

One way of dealing with this is to try to 'loosen up', 'roll with the blows' and not hold myself so proudly within myself. Another is to use 'self-talk' with my easily offended nature, reminding myself that everyone has their bad days and that it's unreasonable to expect that everyone is going to be sensitive to my vulnerabilities all the time.

Still another way I've been able to get myself a little bit over my avoidance issues is to take really small steps so that I slowly build up resilience one bit at a time. I'm still very avoidant though and, like you, have left friends behind too. Although it relieves the stress in some ways, this has also led to the stress of loneliness and guilt in me. Since arriving at the forums a couple of months ago I've been challenging myself to get out into the world at least a little and it is working, bit by bit.