I don't know if this is social anxiety or what but I can't seem to make friends. I mean I talk to my dorm mates and hang out with them more this year than I did last year, but it's easier to talk to them because we live together. Whenever I'm in a group or in any sort of situation when I could be getting to know new people I completely freeze up. And I know people always say "just make small talk" or "ask them something about themselves," I just can't do it. My mind shuts down and I can't think of anything to say. On top of that, even with my dorm mates who I talk to more than anyone else, it feels like I'm kind of standing on the outskirts of their lives. I'm not sure how else to put it but basically it's like they have their friends and this whole life which I'm not a part of and I don't know how to become part of it? They don't really invite me to hang out when they go out with other people, which is probably them trying to do me a kindness because of how terrible I am in groups, but I feel like I've trapped myself now because I'm so socially inept that now people don't even invite me places so I can't even attempt to get better. Even when someone talks to me or I somehow get up the nerve to talk to someone else, it's not long before I see that look in their eyes that says that they feel awkward and I feel them start to pull away. I sometimes pretend I'm not really interested in making new friends but in reality, I'm so lonely all the time. I can't even imagine how I'm going to function in the real world. Things that seem so easy and natural for other people are literally impossible for me. It's not even like I know what to say and what to do but am too afraid to do it; I genuinely have no idea what to say or do but I know by my lack of friends that I'm doing it wrong. Does that make sense? It's not the fear of talking to people that causes the awkwardness, it's my history of awkwardness and subsequent rejection that makes me afraid to even try. The awkwardness came first, not the anxiety. Has anyone else experienced this? Has anyone successfully overcome it?