What is it about 'groups'?

[Cammy]

I recently tried joining a support group at my church. Oh, the horror. Is it just me, or does being in a group of people just amplify all the internal triggers? When I get in a group, the first thing I want to do is find the nearest exit and bolt. Then the automatic thoughts start - stuff like 'I don't belong here', 'I feel like I'm on the outside looking in', 'i am unfit for human company', and lots of feelings of being out of step and out of place. I hate it. I am trying SO hard to try new things that push my envelope and take me beyond my comfort zones, but heck...it IS hard. 

I don't know if it is just me - I was very poorly socialized as a child. Yet I worked as part of a crew/team my entire career without any problems. It is when I am in a social setting that I start to dissemble into this self-doubting mess. 

I'm just wondering if it is me, or if it is a familiar experience among multiples. i intend to keep trying  to push myself into new territory, and hopefully become more comfortable with it as time goes on. I doubt I will ever get to the point where I totally trust others, or where I feel warm and fuzzy inside being around them, but I think that if I can even just get relatively comfortable with others in a group, that will be a big accompishment for me.