Dear seddit, Im a long time lurker and I think it is about time I post here. Im female but I do have the same problems as you: social anxiety and what not. Most of the time I over think shit even when I talk to my friends, I always analyse the conversation, my perception of what the person talking to me thinks of me. As some of you I am feeling extremely awkward about, what some might think of as normal, situations such as going to a shop and checking out stuff. Im 23 and seems like I am just at the beginning of learning how the world works and how people behave. I often catch myself learning how people react in certain situations or how they interact and then trying to imitate it. But then I think to myself that Im losing myself in it. Thanks to seddit last week I had my first approach and, even though it wasnt successful, it still felt great to do it. Just being motivated to go to a group of absolute strangers and being able to hold a conversation for 5 minutes, it was amazing. My only question is this: while you can point out to all the flaws that you have in interacting with people and all the problems you have in social situations, how do you actually get rid of this mindset and go and do shit? Some say its depression or social phobia. I would accept that I have depression since I have admited to myself a multiple times that suicide might not be such a bad option. I know, once you have this thought entering your head, you have to go and see a professional. But, I mean, is there anything beyond taking small steps and just going out there and enjoying your life? From what I read, I can see that a lot of you guys put a lot of work into being what you are now and its fuckin' great. However, sometimes, you just wish that the world was much simpler so you dont have to play the game and learn the rules of pick up. Im sorry for rambling, this post is just to say thank you to seddit and its members and also to express what I have been feeling lately.