The Hardest thing in Adolescence

For the social butterflies out there, feel free to disagree with what I'm about to say. And for those introverts, soft-spoken ones, and weirdlings out in cyber space I think you'll agree. Communicating is difficult! Do you find yourself stumbling for words to say, thinking of what everyone else will think and therefore not speaking at all because of fear? Communicating is difficult, is scary, is necessary.
Holden is having his fare share of trouble with words and people. If you think about it you never know how someone might react, perhaps after knowing them for a few months or years you might predict things, but new people? What if you say one wrong thing, will they hate you forever, will they judge all your actions based on that one stupid slip of the tongue? That sounds like Holden, judging everything off of first impressions. But perhaps that's a defense mechanism for him, perhaps he's trying to judge them before they judge him!
But you can see his struggle with others, but he so desperately wants to be around people, to talk to them, to have a intelligent conversation. He tries being generous with new people, and he is interested in them, in their life outside of work; but he says something negative to ruin it, or begins on one of his spirals. Isn't it terrifying? Isn't communication a challenge?