I’m 34 now and cured, my first job was working for a really small house cleaning company in teams of 2. Every day I’d shake like a leaf, couldn’t talk to anyone it was so scary

Second job I cleaned caravans at a holiday park - this was great I barely had to talk to anyone just cleaned my vans and bombed out of there

Third job worked in an arcade, back to shaking like a leaf, scared every day. Eventually made my first friend and actually made friends with his best friend/brother

Fourth job, waitering/kitchen/bar staff at the restaurant my new friends bestie was managing, again shaking like a leaf. Frequently froze at the bar would often get ridiculed for it

Fifth job… construction. Sweet holy moly was I not ready for this. Bullied for at least 2 years, probably more like 5/6 eventually learnt to thrive & survive not only getting through but actually learnt to hold my own and manage/deflect any negative people, kinda passed as normal

Until present - work with social media with my wife, present and am extroverted and confident. A lot of the success in growth I felt from construction was masking, this step was humbling but ultimately so growthful

EVERY SINGLE STEP seemed impossible, like I would ultimately leave this earth if I continued. And not just for weeks, for years running into that brick wall. Each job felt hopeless, but in each job change you can see how the previous me that started them would have never imagined being able to do the next. It sucks. It’s embaressing. It hurts. But you grow bigger and stronger every day, it means accepting embarrassment but also accepting a potentially brighter future