So, I have, for a long time, had issues with social anxiety, issues with “getting” social cues, and other issues (including lifelong struggles with “The Black Dog”). It’s been something I have been working on with…minimal success. Nevertheless, here are some of the things I have looked into.
Some of the tips in these various videos have been, difficult to achieve (don’t go out solo, go out with friends–considering the number of friends I have local to me–can be counted on the fingers of one foot–that’s…difficult). Others, well, either they were oversold or, well, as I am wont to say “all people are not the same and one size does not fit all”, they just didn’t really do anything for me.
This, of course, is only one facet of the issue. Problems with getting social cues that are well understood by others feeds into the anxiety issue. And when you have a tendency to depression to begin with, that just acts as an amplifier to the whole things.
Still, I try. Progress might be microscopic, but even microscopic progress is still progress. They say the longest journeys start with a single step. Well, I’d break it down still further. That first step starts with shifting weight from one foot to the other.
The Writer in Black 
“The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet.” — Lao Tsu
How can you get where you want to go if you don’t know where you are? It looks like you’ve got that covered. I, too, have had my battles with the Black Dog. Robin Williams once said that depression is like a coat made of lead — and you don’t get to decide when to put it on or take it off.
One thing that gave me a bit of comfort was “Darkness Visible”; by William Styron (ISBN: 0-679-73639-5). The man really knows whereof he writes.
Keep on keeping on.
Obi
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