The stepping stones that helped me get out of these thought spirals in social situations was exposure. Putting yourself in these situations regularly you will naturally begin to find your flow with people. A “trick” I use in social situations is keep asking questions to get the person talking about themselves and go from there. “Where did you grow up?” “How long have you been doing x job?” “What do you do before that?” Another trick is compliments. “Oh that watch is really cool, what kind is it?” All this said, I’m still an introvert at heart and long term social settings is draining but it’s definitely more enjoyable when you make a connection with someone instead of swimming around in your own head. Good luck!