This is just a symptom of a bigger issue. I've experienced what you felt before and then have not felt it later, and the main issue was that I cared what people thought of me. I'd rather be concerned with my character, knowing that I'm on my path, etc.
The immediate thing is you allow others opinions to dictate a sense of self to you. Stop caring. If you constantly cut off these nervous threads with, "Wait, I do not give a damn about what anyone thinks of me." soon it'll rewire your neurology.
It gives you the freedom to speak your mind and be positive, and then whoever resonates with YOU, you'll gravitate towards each other. Why
do you care what people think of you, anyway?
Oh, and, your ego thing is spot on. Eckhart rarely fails us
