Callisto wrote:I'm a somewhat sensitive person, meaning that it doesn't take much for me to get angry, stigmatized, or in other ways upset.
Callisto wrote:Keep in mind I already have social anxiety, am introverted, and have a low trust of others the way it is.
As you said yourself, you're sensitive. For a person in your position it's not very recommended to bring yourself in situations that upset you. You can only do harm to yourself, for no reason, because you'll hardly succeed in proving a point. As a popular meme says, "
Haters gonna hate". They don't want to know the truth. If they did, they wouldn't be using strawmen and ad hominems as you noticed, but would be open-minded, which despite boasting about it, they're not.
Callisto wrote:It bothers me that I get upset because I feel like a weakling and that I have a pitiful level of faith that I let it bother me, and yet I cannot stop it.
You're not weak, it's just that these days we're being overloaded with information from everywhere, and it's sometimes difficult for the brain to sort it out. I was just talking to Short1 about that the other day. We don't have the time to research everything there is about Christianity. Nor we should - we'd hardly have time to do anything else in our lives. I was on that path, then I said "stop", I'll proceed by faith as I already know more than most people do about Christianity. Ever since I've felt more peace than before.
Callisto wrote:I feel like I'm battling myself.... This must be what they call the spiritual warfare we experience. There's no other way to describe it other than I'm constantly being "stabbed" over and over again with their "knives". Part of me almost doesn't fear death in the fact that they will all finally shut up, but I suppose it's not the right way to think of it. Some days are worse than others. (NO, I am NOT suicidal, I do not want to imply this.) I'm just tired, and I'm only in my 20's.
I would attribute that to your anxiety. I used to have this fear from facing my doubts when I was emotionally sensitive due to a vitamin deficiency. Long story, but anyway, chemicals and hormones in our bodies can influence us in a way we can't even imagine. If I were you, I'd prioritize treating anxiety. But doing that involves primarily making peace with yourself. You'll harm your health if you keep living the way you do now. You're young, barely older than me, and there's still a lot of things that await us. Why fret over something we can't affect?
Callisto wrote:What I want to know is, how do you all handle this when you are in debates with them, read things on the Internet or see things on the news that really make you mad (or sad)? Basically - how do you put up with other people when all you feel is walls being built up against you to shield you from others?
Human ignorance combined with arrogance can infuriate me, but what can I do? There's no point in trying to correct all the wrongs in this world. Sometimes we just have to let go, and live our lives. Live as an example, be moral, guide and help your "neighbors" when they need it, nurture your relationship with God, and that's pretty much all you can do as an individual. "News" about Christianity being false don't affect me anymore, as I've recognized a pattern that they follow all the time. I just ignore them, and I recommend that you do the same. Focus on what you
can affect, and you'll find your peace.