I had a similar experience a few days ago at school. I have ADHD and hate crowds with loud noises. When I hear my name, it will immediately come to my attention. Now, there were a few girls yelling, "Audrey! Audrey!  Right next to me. This was for a different person, but I almost started crying and yelling at them to stop. I hate it.

I agree about the service dogs. I never approach them. I read a book as a kid, and there was one character with a service dog, and they always had to say to people not to pet him. I would find it very overwhelming, and I wouldn ™t want the dog to get distracted.

John B, I believe the correct term is asocial instead of antisocial. Antisocial is another term for ASPD. Asocial is for introverted people.

I am 13, and my parents don ™t know either. They always take me to crowded events, and I usually get panic attacks. Even getting close to strangers can trigger it, too. My parents also rarely help me when the attacks come on, so I must always find a quieter space with fewer people. I think seeing a bunch of people clumped up or being really loud can trigger it.

I have this phobia, too. And, it is a little odd how it seems to be specific to certain types of circumstances. For example, I can go into a Walmart and spend an hour or two shopping for groceries, and the store can have many other people milling about – but this doesn’t seem to trigger the phobia. But, if I am compelled to attend a funeral service or a wedding, the fear kicks in very quickly, and I cannot wait to escape. I can’t remember a time in my life where I ever felt comfortable with being around large crowds of people. And, as I’ve gotten older, I feel less and less comfortable around crowds.

Wow me too! I don’t know about you, but I start to walk funny, because my legs tend to “lock up” when I’m around people.

I’ve personally always called this “people-claustrophobia”; Although I don’t think I have it as bad as you do from your description, but I’ve always avoided or preferred to avoid anyone sitting next to me in places like concerts, restaurants, movies, in cars and other transportation like on buses and trains, etc. It even gets to the point where I will wait long amounts of time just standing around (despite being disabled and recommended to sit as much as possible), until the “right kind of seat” opens up! I’m sorry I can’t offer any help or advice though, because I’m actually a hermit and a happy one at that (in-so-far as avoiding outside stuff, at least) but I do wish you the best of luck finding a job that fits you better!