Question in title, reason for question in text body: semi-long read, if you only want to answer the question, just read the title

I had to repost because a typo ruined last title and it was wrecking the comment section on a serious topic

Not a virgin, and I do have experience, if anyone was wondering based on my text below:

When I was in high school (about 9 years ago) two girls that I was friends with, not even girls I expressed sexual interest in, put me through hell for social awkwardness (I have high-functioning autism). They both left a lot of subconscious anxiety with me that I'm only now realizing I still have now that I'm trying to get into approaches and game. While they were just friends, it still carried over to women in general for me and even more so for women i actually am interested in.

Long story short and leaving out the emotionally charged details of how they treated me, I was just socially uncalibrated, not acting out of malice or being creepy. Hugged a bit too long, too many awkward silences, too much mushy caring friend talk. I stupidly treated girl #1 like a male friend and went somewhere after school (still in school building) to ask her a question like you would one of the bros and was accused of stalking.

Girl 2 got parents and school involved for basically social awkwardness and I got accused of the same thing even though there was no plausible misunderstanding like girl #1. Turns out her mom was a grade A psycho but school heavily cracked down on me and my freedoms.

I was hospitalized a couple of times and really fell downhill for a while. My only successes since then have just been girls doing most of the work for me.

I've done phenomenally better socially and this doesn't happen any more and I don't get crappy misunderstandings like in high school, but the experience has left me extremely paralyzed in wanting to flirt and game. I'm terrified to even try and it's killing me that I'm holding back because of something that happened a decade ago. I'm making no progress and overall getting increasingly depressed from the paralysis

How do you get past previous, overboard and mentally-scarring rejections and realize it's not going to happen anymore after making necessary improvements. I can handle a normal rejection, but can't help but irrationally fear a repeat of the past