Sadly, this is very accurate. I too face this (no, not the doll-loving but struggling to interact with people without fear)

And it's true: it does occur by abuse. Mine was by my family, starting with my parents neglecting me due to their miserable marriage and my siblings taunting me and always making fun of me and beating me up (they were both molested, so I guess I can understand)

It also didn't help that I had bullies at school, kids that made fun of me for my worn-out hand-me-downs and wanting to just have fun and not grow up so quickly (I live in an area in El Paso that it's common to see 14 year olds pregnant and 16 year olds on their 2nd kid)

It was awful because I was only a child and had no one to rely on with this torture. No friends to trust, no family to trust. If I cried at home, they found me another reason to cry. No dinner to wait for, no birthdays/Christmas/Thanksgiving celebrated, no support from anyone. I was a lonely child that was afraid of the world.

I struggled a lot with friendships and relationships due to this, and eventually developed anxiety and almost committed suicide.

And now, I suffer from Social Anxiety and have Avoidant Personality disorder. I have certain ticks that just won't stop unless i'm on my medication (Prozac) and still struggle making friendships, interacting with people at work, and at school. Luckily, I have a boyfriend who has been very supportive and understanding for the past 2 years. He lets me cry and lets me express my fears or even just memories from my life that still terrorizes me. Sometimes I even get too scared being with him, even though he hasn't given me a reason to lose trust in him.

I have been doing much better, but it still makes me so depressed thinking about that poor child. That poor child that was everyone's dog to kick on a shitty day. Wasn't my fault my siblings were molested. Wasn't my fault my parent's marriage was falling apart. Wasn't my fault that the other kids also struggled with their lives.

For the past year, I have been writing everything that has hurt me with advice that could be helpful for my future child (well, if I have a child) or even for another hurt child, before they end up like... that guy...