I have friends and can socialize normally, but when it comes to women I actually care about, I completely shut down emotionally. If a woman shows interest and I’m interested too, instead of leaning into it I freeze, overthink everything, avoid vulnerability, and pull away. Afterward I feel a lot of shame and regret because deep down I wanted the connection. A big part of it is I never really felt good about myself. Whenever a woman I liked showed interest, my mindset was basically “why me?” or “why would anyone actually want me?” so I’d shut down before anything could develop. I feel like I wasted years doing this and kept myself lonely by never saying what was actually on my mind or letting women really know me. For men who used to be like this, how did you change? How did you build self-worth and learn to let someone in without feeling weak, uncomfortable, or ashamed? submitted by /u/Brownsugar4202
Originally posted by u/Brownsugar4202 on r/AskMen