It was hard, but I got out of my own head. I took an interest in other people. What do they think? What's their story? Not to debate or argue, but just to t

It was hard, but I got out of my own head. I took an interest in other people. What do they think? What's their story? Not to debate or argue, but just to try & understand them. When I was a lot younger my anxiety would sometimes result in my mind going blank at a social event. To combat that, I would draft a few questions or topics on an index card & stick it in my back pocket. When it would happen, I'd excuse myself to the restroom & read it. Once I got basic footholds on social interactions, I started to realized something: a lot of people felt the same anxiousness & stress that I did. That helped me a lot because my focus became how do I help them feel more comfortable, feel a sense of belonging. And again, by taking the focus off myself, the interactions became easier. Carnegie's "How to Win Friends & Influence People" is also great. Lastly, practice helps a lot. Accept you'll make mistakes, have awkward moments & everything else. So what? The worst thing it can do is keep you from trying again in the future. After a while (and I mean a long while), you learn to laugh those things off & it becomes easier. Just keep going.