Hello everyone, I have been reading seddit for a while and had a question I wanted opinions on. A bit of background, I am a pretty outgoing person, I like public speaking, meet people everywhere and have not had problems with shyness and such since I was a child. Mostly due to being dyslexic which I have dealt with well in the last few years. I have had quite a few girl friends and actually have more female friends than guy friends. My problem is I have been "programmed" to fear "cold starting" like none other. If I have something that segues into a conversation or I have been introduced to a girl then it is usually pretty easy for me to #close or what have you. Its just that little extra distance that is so hard. The reason I say programmed is because when I was younger one of two things happened 1. I rarely tried to meet people randomly because I thought it was creepy and 2. If I did I usually got the worst response. I always seem to hear "What is the worst that can happen?" But bad things always came of it. Also girls that I have known for a long period of time, liked or got "friend zoned" by, are daunting to me. My window of opportunity is small, but since I do have a method to fall back on (introduction by 3rd party, ect...) I never make myself try something new. What can I do to stop this? Or deprogram? I can do all other social things but this is so hardwired into me and I need help! Thanks.