This was going to be my post too - I used to have severe social anxiety, consider myself extremely introverted, and loving to be alone. But I was a very unhappy

This was going to be my post too - I used to have severe social anxiety, consider myself extremely introverted, and loving to be alone. But I was a very unhappy person and suffered a lot from depression/mental health issues. Life circumstances (being single) forced me to go out. It was a really hard task, extremely uncomfortable, and full of sort of traumatic and awful experiences. It's only 6-7 years later after starting this that I'm finally in a place where I would almost describe myself as extroverted. I'm socially an entirely different person. My general mental health and well-being is greatly improved. I get a lot of value out of the people in my life and my relationships with them.