Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix76 View Post
Don't overestimate other people's lives. Not everyone joins the SAS and fights in Afghanistan, or studies at Oxford, or moves to some hip part of London or New York to become a performance poet. On the contrary, most people's lives are pretty dull. They get up, argue with their partner, grab some toast, sit in an office and then spend their weekends doing household chores.

I know how you feel; I too have social anxiety (actually, an avoidant personality disorder). Often, I will go for long periods without meeting people, and that then makes it much harder. But socializing is a skill like any other. At first it is hard, then, gradually, you improve. Why not try with someone easy. Maybe you could put up a thread on here asking if anyone in your area wants to meet for a coffee. That's what I have done. It's so much easier to talk to people who've struggled with similar things (and there are LOADS out there, believe me).

One final tip. Try reading out loud in your home. I know it sounds weird, but it helps a lot. If you read aloud from good books, you improve the tone and rhythm of your voice, and that makes you a better conversationalist. Lots of people have incredibly dreary, flat voices.
That last tip is incredible, I have never thought about doing that and I hate how my voice comes out. Tha kyou for that