I hadn’t have the best interaction with people and I have made friends that I felt wasn’t great for me as well as gotten out an controlling relationship a year ago. It has eaten up my self-esteem where I am scared to actually talk to anyone in real life as I worried similar thing would happen.
I know I need to push myself out there which is easier said than done. One thing I tried to do is if I am in a decent mood, I got to one the social group which is on like every month as well as join in to my friend’s karaoke night and sing terribly. Sadly, I’m not Mariah Carey… 😔
So I have taken slow steps up which is better than taking none I guess but I got long way till I feel confident in myself where I stop worrying about everything as it really does held me back in general.
Take it in your own time! I cope with social anxiety myself so I have to take things in small steps too.
To echo the idea of a martial arts class, I always fare better socializing around some kind of activity. Sometimes I’ll go to the local climbing gym to boulder for an hour or two (I’m US based). I like it cause I can chat with other climbers while resting (I definitely spend more time resting on the mats than on the wall) and there’s a common activity to start conversation with. Most of the climbing gyms I’ve been to facilitate welcoming community spaces and are accessible to new climbers and all kinds of people. Most also have fairly robust community calendars that include stuff like arts and crafts, movie nights, yoga, park excursions etc etc
In short, community spaces that facilitate stuff to do are great for meeting people and offer opportunities for as much socialization as you feel comfortable with.