Now I'm sure we all have our different opinions on beating approach anxiety, but this is just what works excellently for me recently.

So one trick to get around approach anxiety (that most here might know of) is to simply assume rapport from the open. Of course having this attitude will mostly work, in that we've all had a time when a stranger just came right up to us and started talking confidently, and we let them. The option of saying "sorry I can't talk now" (or even "who the hell are you?") crosses your mind... but you don't say it because you're at least a little bit curious about them.

However, if you are genuinely in a very low mood, then I'm of the opinion that trying to assume rapport can backfire. It's just literally not possible for me to "assume" that the girl will be willing to talk to me. So when in a low mood the best motivator (for me) is to except that you're likely going to get rejected, that it may be awkward, and that that's actually not so bad. If you think about what the worst case scenario might be, you're then in a position to ask yourself if that's really even that bad? And it probably isn't, so you'll be presently surprised if it's any better.

So the up side to the second motivator is that I make still make the approach, but I otherwise wouldn't have had the courage. But the down side (when compared to assuming rapport) is you're not going to make much of an effort in doing so. Therefore the girl will likely sense that you're not expecting it to go well, and that you're merely approaching for your ego. But if it's largely a numbers game, then at least it gets you to approach. It's not like I go around thinking all that when I see a girl, but in a way it's sort of like I've cracked a code.