I feel like all I do is lurk.....

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Since I joined, I feel like all I do is lurk. I read as much as I can but I feel reluctant to comment on posts, especially posts that are back past page 3 and/or have dozens of replies already. I have found a lot of great material to read and helpful links.
That thing about the internet that makes it so easy for me to be a part of it, I am finding it now to be a hindrance to participating. I used to participate a lot at a computer help forum but that was purely to give/get information. I reflected on my internet participation and found that I never shared very much except as a very controlled persona that I was willing to let the world see. And as the years have gone by I find myself sharing less and less. As a correlation I also find myself more and more not knowing how to share. I've been a hermit for too long.
The last few weeks I have also been taking longer and longer to "recharge" after interacting with the world. At first I thought it was just a down phase of me being bi-polar, but when I did interact with the world I could do so easily. Just not for long periods of time and I needed significant "recharging" time afterwords. I have been sleeping and napping excessively. It's not depression.
I'm really enjoying reading in these forums. I'll try to contribute. But so far all I'm doing is lurking.

Pooh Bear

Hi Pooh_Bear,

When I first joined here, I felt a bit like an outsider (it was more in my head and I made it real), but there are some really great people here, and now I feel a bit more comfortable.

I think you'll find other members here who share your interests.

hiya PoohBear
welcome to our fine big clubhouse
for the first 5 years of wrong planet's existence, i lurked, feeling insufficiently mature to be able to contribute anything constructive. i finally took the plunge february 13, 2010 and haven't looked back.

Everytime I contribute, I struggle with the "is this worthwhile?" thought and a lot of times I don't. But I make an effort to, because I think it's important to share, and reinforce to the OP'rs and ourselves that we are not alone; there is understanding and support here.