I Am Still Here

Verse 1] A thousand locked eyes in a crowded room Every low whisper sounds like my doom My throat is like glass and my skin starts to crawl I'm suffocating, backed up against the wall The severe trauma whispers they all know my past They're waiting to watch every fracture unmask My hands start to shake as the paranoia grows The monster of social anxiety shows I'm drowning in public, invisible ink Too terrified to move, too paralyzed to think. [Chorus] It's a very dark prison when you're trapped in your skin The outside is lethal, the war is within The severe trauma breaks me, the social anxiety blinds Leaving me frozen, completely confined They see a ghost who is hiding in plain sight Running from shadows in the middle of the light But underneath the panic and the suffocating fear I'm screaming through the static: I am still here! [Verse 2] A simple hello feels like a physical threat Replaying every look with an agonizing regret The flashbacks are bleeding into everyday life Cutting through my sanctuary like a rusted knife "Just step outside, you'll be fine," they all say But they don't see the monsters blocking the way My racing heart is pounding, tearing through my chest A broken nervous system that never gets to rest The crowd is a ocean and I'm pulled by the tide Desperately searching for a place I can hide. Bridge I am tired of hiding! I'm tired of the shame! Tired of the people who don't know my name! The trauma may own every ghost from my past But this social anxiety won't be my last! Break down the walls! Shatter the cage! Watch me turn the page on this internal rage! [Heavy Screaming Guitar Solo ] [Chorus] It's a very dark prison when you're trapped in your skin The outside is lethal, the war is within The severe trauma breaks me, the social anxiety blinds Leaving me frozen, completely confined They see a ghost who is hiding in plain sight Running from shadows in the middle of the light But underneath the panic and the suffocating fear I'm screaming through the static: I am still here! [Outro] In the middle of the crowd. In the middle of the dark. You didn't erase me. You didn't extinguish the spark. I am still here.