I eventually dropped out of college. It got to the point where I couldn't muster enough courage to leave my dorm room. I stopped going to classes altogether. So I moved back home and found a job. For nearly ten years, my life consisted of nothing but work and sleep. I spent a little time with friends but never really went out. 

I did nothing for nearly a decade. No school, no girlfriend, no ambition. Nothing. But in the summer of 2006, something happened to me. I finally reached my breaking point. I was tired of feeling like I had no life and no hope. There's two ways you can go when you've reached that point. You either submit to everything you believe and give up, or you ######## fight it.

I decided to fight. I wanted more than to just be a workaholic trying to find overnight jobs that limited my interaction with people. I started exercising. At first, I did some walking three times a week. After a couple months, I walked five days a week. After six months, I jogged three days a week and walked two.

I cut back on what I ate. Slowly but surely, I began to lose weight. If you ever want to feel good, try losing just 5-10 pounds and see how you do. Losing a little weight motivated me to lose more weight. By the end of 2006, I had moved away from home and joined a gym.

Today, I've lost a total of 60 pounds and still continue to lose. I've been dating (quite a bit ), returned to college, and am more social now than I've ever been my entire life. When they tell you that you have a problem, don't listen. The whole damn thing is a lie. Social anxiety exists only because we believe in it. You have to stop believing in the lie and start believing in yourself.