My female protag suffers from a number of anxiety disorders, with social phobia being the most significant, although she lives in denial of just how dysfunctional she has become. To the casual observer she would come across as being a reclusive, needlessly hostile snob, and on the surface she would seem every bit the workplace bit*h we have all known at some point. But what I would like to slowly reveal to the reader and my male protag is that in reality what is really going on within her is reactionary defensiveness, because she has developed neither the social skills or ability to trust that most people take for granted, it is as debilitating to her well being as any physical handicap would be. I'm hoping that by keeping her a walking contradiction like this she will be a lot more interesting and sympathetic than someone completely introverted whom barely speaks at all, which in the real world would probably be more realistic given her problems.
What I want to explore with the story is just how quietly devastating and misunderstood these kind of psychological problems can be, but also how it is ultimately up to the sufferer to take responsibility for themselves in order to recover.
) and true acceptance. Guess this might help readers to relate to them and learn how to handle their lives better...since several of my characters are based on the people I hate and how I can see them truly develop into a better person. 
