I'm trying to figure out if I am losing it. I am unable to have a casual conversation even with acquaintances, leave alone strangers. I dread going to parties because I am tongue-tied. It doesn't help that I don't drink or smoke, and so can't "loosen" up. When people make small talk in parties, I just can't seem to understand what the point is. And when people tell me there isn't any, that just adds to the confusion. Even when I'm with real close friends, I find myself tongue-tied, and it's only with certain people that I seem to be able to talk at all. The saving grace is that I am a patient listener; though I don't contribute much to conversations, I let the talkers feel that they have a captive audience.
On the other hand, I "converse" rather well with people when I am on-line, i.e., when I am logged on to one of the instant messengers - Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk. In fact, I am much more communicative through e-mail. So much so that one of my friends once remarked that it'd be much better if I just remain an e-mail friend.
What's wrong with me? Am I asocial, anti-social, or just plain weird? Because shyness doesn't seem to make the cut. Or maybe these symptoms mean nothing at all?
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