Invisible

   Hey, everyone. I added a contact form to the sidebar to keep my word from what I said yesterday.

   Well, today's topic, I don't have advice for yet. I'm working on it, but my purpose for now is to make others know that their not alone in this invisible feeling.
   So, for me, the invisible feeling is when I'm talking or standing next to people and then they don't seem to notice. Even my friends sometimes do it, but they usually notice a few minutes after, so it's fine. Still, a good deal of the time (from the past and occasional present) it feels like this quote:
   "I listened to them, smiled. nodded. Agreed. Understood. Comforted. But when I opened my mouth to speak. Nobody listened but the silence. For now I have learned that people expect to be listened to, yet they refuse to listen themselves." -(a.b)
   I found this last night and thought, well, that sums it up. I've been having pretty much these exact thoughts. But sometimes it's hard to get used to. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's how I got my social anxiety (one cause is being ignored/neglected by peers).

   So, what do you do? Well, my approach could be wrong. Now, my past experiences consisted of talking, being ignored, then if I kept talking I'd then be looked at as if with three heads and ignored right after. Because of that, I now tend to just drift off to silence.
   The problem is that I'll have a mixture of reactions to doing that. I'll be bothered at myself for doing it, not blaming the others. I could be bothered by the others, but either understand why or get annoyed at them. It's just hard sometimes.
   Part of the time, I want to be heard and to be listened to. So it gets annoying sometimes when those moments happen and no one hears. Or sometimes I'll just be standing there and no one seems to notice me right there.
   It's gotten better. So it's not that bad anymore. Still, to make sure no one else feels like me, I do my best to provide a listening ear to others. And it works. I like making someone feel listened to, especially when I don't feel listened to myself.
   And now what I'm working on is letting others know that I'm willing to listen to their problems. After months of loading off my problems onto others, I want to provide the help that my friends gave to me. It's even harder when they know it and are reluctant to tell me, though I definitely understand that. It's not easy.

   Still, does anyone else know what to do in these situations? Does anyone have anything to tell themselves or to do?

-Kayla