Hi @dougjanehaltom
I can relate because as a young person, from about age 10 all the way up to adulthood I had an issue whereby I wanted so badly to be liked by everyone. I thought the way to be liked was by being funny. Unfortunately in conversation with acquaintances, perhaps a co worker or a neighbor on the street, I would often say something that was (to my mind anyway) not funny but totally dumb or inappropriate. Then I would feel terrible about myself for a day or a week, and I would get very depressed about how I had made that other person think I was, not funny but odd, strange, weird, you name it. That person then went on my list of people to avoid, perhaps forever if possible. I got so that whenever I met someone I wanted to impress my mind would freeze up. It made for a very uncomfortable and unhappy existence. This was my life much of the time through grade school and high school, college and early work years. It made it challenging just to meet girls I can tell you!

I got through this through a lot of self work, aided by marrying a woman who was a natural born counselor, and finally by opening up to, and finding love from, God. So between God, my wife and myself, the three of us managed to get me sorted out. Your problem may have no relationship to mine, but perhaps at least you can rest assured you are not alone in feeling strange in encounters with other members of the human race. Although I have become much more functional socially and have been so for a long time now, I think there are a number of us out there that just don't seem to quite fit in the world and I suppose I will always be one of those. Best, Hank