As someone who faced a lot of social rejection in his childhood along with living with strict parents who go off on you over small things, this is exactly my problem. I think I am good at socializing. I know how to converse, make people feel comfortable, is good at small talk, etc. But the issue is that I struggle a lot with confidence, no matter how nice someone is to me or how much fun I have around a person, there will always be some voice in my head telling me that I am still unlikable and that people still aren’t interested in me.
It’s really damaging, I can’t approach people because I always think I am going appear like some creep when that is rarely the case. People are probably waiting for me to approach them but I just rarely do so because of this. Any behavior from others that are unusual when talking to me will send me to a spiral and make me think that I did something wrong. I can never assert myself because in the end I think I will still be wrong to do so making me look embarrassing to others.
I am about to move to a different city for college so luckily I see it as a fresh start since there will be new people, but I am scared that my esteem will still follow me. How do I stop my thoughts from getting to me? I often see advice for those who don’t know how to socialize, but what about for those who do but struggle with confidence in a social aspect?