Agoraphobia in regards to Wanderers

[Marc]

As a fellow INTP, I can tell you it is just a natural part of our personality type. We very often dislike / are bad at smalltalk.

Personally, I try to keep a handle on it so it doesn't cross the line into being truly 'anti-social', yet try to accept it the best I can rather than fight it.

It's a fun balence to keep. When I was young I went through extreme cases of anti-social bouts. I even started to seriously dislike people with my fundamentalist Christian upbringing. I'm just learning myself I guess. I'm still young (just turning 21) so I have a lot to learn about myself still.

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Marc, I have something similar but different, what I think is called Ochlophobia. It's funny, because I'm fine if I'm boxed in both those that I know. Or I'm fine if everyone sits down and focuses on one thing (like a movie, or if I'm giving a speech), but when walking up and about, it's difficult for me. I once visited Manhattan, and I had to stay heavily medicated just to make it a few streets.

It almost feels as if I'm absorbing too many people at once. I do know that I can't even figure out where my thoughts and emotions start and end in those situations. The anxiety has made me faint in such situations before.

However, you lead me to a social setting with a few people, even some strangers, and I'm extroverted and extremely social. I've also wondered if it's related to being a wanderer, or just "absorbent."

That totally makes sense to me. It's definitely something I've never heard of before though I've had small issues of a similar fashion and I learned to close myself off when around many moving people. I slowly started to look around while on the train and slowly worked myself upto a state where I could make eye contact and smile without having headphones on. I think most fears can be conquered although we choose our handicaps for a reason, even if the reason was to overcome it.