Re: How can you become "normal?"
I do a lot of normal things. I go to work every day, go to meetings, give presentations, used to work as a case worker doing home visits. I volunteer on the weekends in a food co-op, handle money, other peoples' food, etc... I touch my face all the damn time, I go out with friends, go out to eat, I go away from home and stay in other peoples' houses.
I do sometimes do "check ins" with my husband when I'm feeling anxious to ask if it is normal for someone to feel anxious in a situation, like before my endoscopy, I told him I was really anxious, and was that just my phobia or was it a situation that 'normal' people would be anxious - and he said normal, and I felt better (still anxious! but better that I didn't seem to weird being anxious!).
My high level of 'normal' confuses the hell out of my psychologist Apparently someone with such a reportedly high level of anxiety should not be so high functioning.
"I'm not supposed to be like this, but it's okay" -- The Wrong Child, R.E.M.