Is it normal to feel like people giving me compliments are just joking and actually hate me and my 'friends' are just part of a malicious group trying to play with me?

You sound like me when I was younger :( I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. I found it easier to deal with when I realized nobody lies for little stuff like online comments, there's no motivation to. I still find social interaction on the internet very, very stressful, so I keep it to a minimum. I still have a hard time trusting anybody, but at least it's not like a thousand voices pounding down on me as soon as we stop talking. (At least not every time.)

My fix was burning out and withdrawing from everything, but I pushed much too hard and wasn't good to myself. After I recovered some I went to therapy and dealt with some unrelated issues which brought down my symptoms a lot.

I would truly not mind talking to you if you want some advice on how to deal with intrusive thoughts and crushing anxiety. I can't swear I'll be helpful but I have a few tips and tricks from working through similar stuff. You're no bother, I hate seeing someone going through this. That's my motivation. If you don't want to, there's also no pressure to message me.

I also do art and pretty much quit for 2 years cuz of this stuff! I've been starting again, I missed it.

/r/morbidquestions Thread