I have been doing work on myself for a couple weeks and so far i am doing well in everything except for starting conversations. I have had easy times when its in a setting where you are meant to meet people and reach out but when its not in that type of situation i completely freeze. I cant think and i just shutdown from fear. I had the last straw just a few minutes before writing this where i have ran into this couple i have wanted to be friends with around 4 times. and i was able to talk in a club where you were supposed to get to know people but today we suddenly met again, and when i was gonna go up to them and ask for their numbers I froze i did not say a thing to them and seeing them walk away without me saying a singular thing to get to know them more hurt so much. I am from a state where people you dont know are very cold and very confused when someone randomly talks to them so that is probably part of the reason y im so scared, but idk what to do i just cant shake it and idk how to overcome it i have tried nodding to people but people never look, ive tried saying hi but i freeze in every situation. I have also tried to get a therapist, but ive been on a waiting list for over a year because my state is having a mass exodus of therapists. What do i do to start fixing this? im desperate