Gi'daylittlelulu -- Don't worry .. the starting part is often the hardest part .. but it does get easier the further along the journey you go. You sound as though you're an incredibly caring, strong and responsible person ... and in that you've done really well, and I'm utterly amazed that your old friends disappeared. (Mine did the same when I stopped drinking alcohol -- they found it too confronting).
Anxiety is a tricky little thing to deal with ... it can come all at once and knock you off your feet or it can crept up slowly behind you like a cat and one day pounce, or it can be like little bits of dust or straw that fall down upon your shoulders until you're so overburdened you don't know what to do or even how you got to that stage of discomfort.
I've found reading books on Developmental Psychology and trying to understand how the brain works to be extremely helpful in dealing with and understanding both anxiety, depression, PTSD and brain trauma (head injury). If you think this would help I'd be happy to share some of my favorites ... or you could simply Google or go to the section in your local library.
Glad you're here and talking .... keep it up and stay safe .... okay?
