How can I open up to people after going through emotional trauma during high school?

Being picked on is an awful thing to have to go through – I can understand why it’s so difficult for you. Looking people in the eyes or trying to make some form of contact doesn’t need to happen instantly, though. This is the kind of thing that you can take slowly and work on gradually.

As an example.. try making a goal to talk to at least one person a day and looking at them briefly if you can. It doesn’t have to be peers directly, you can start anywhere you like (cashier, neighbour, school librarian, etc) and work your way up to your peers. Once you’ve got one person down a day for maybe a month, try maybe two every second day and one every other day. Then work your way up to as many as you’re comfortable doing. Practice and effort can make this possible for you.

If you’re feeling a lot of anxiety while trying it with your peers and feel like you’ve hit a block with it, perhaps talking to someone about your thoughts and feelings about when you were picked on could help.