Personal improvements thus far:
- Distinguishing a genuine question versus a question asked for small talk purposes in order to prevent feeling stupid and disrespected when they don't listen to your in depth response
- Allowing myself to talk about myself without immediately deflecting to questions about the other person (I tend to do this behavior not because I don't like talking about myself, but because I get worried the other person is being burdened listening to my narcissistic thoughts)
- Learning what's worth being anxious over
- Setting judgments aside when I pick up on authentic vulnerability
- Building confidence in my professional capabilities
- Normalizing my immense need to be alone and recognizing that it's less about hating people than it is about something related to the second bullet point
