I had somehow a similar experience. At some point I identified it as a problem and learned to start and keep up conversations with new people. Slowly I started

I had somehow a similar experience. At some point I identified it as a problem and learned to start and keep up conversations with new people. Slowly I started liking that and it became more or less natural. I still have "recovery" periods when I am just too tired or have no interest to talk to people, so I simply don't. But those are quite short (few days a month), and the rest I use for visiting meetups and networking with other people. I can recommend a few books I appreciated the most: 1. "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie - somewhat outdated but still gives a lot of basics. 2. "How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships" by Leil Lowndes - more modern but not necessarily perfect, although I found a few important things for myself. 3. "How to Talk to Absolutely Anyone: Confident communication in every situation" by Mark Rhodes - same as above. Not perfect, but has some interesting ideas