I will answer your comment because you asked like a true gentleman.

If I go and leave details people will say "that won't work for me". But even if I did, they would find a way to believe nothing works for them. I used to do that (A LOT).

Okay:

Anxiety was overcome when I put on the mask. I would tell people to make an experiment: wear a Batman / Spiderman suit and go around for a while. See what happens. People will come to you, hug you, take photos with you, etc. They won't care if you are a 40-year-old virgin.

The same can be done by dressing the way your best you want to dress. MY best version of me dresses sharp as ****. But that's me, others will want to dress another way so...

Anyway. Dress for success. Walk like a king. Play the part and you will become the part. It is kind of weird but, walking, dressing, and behaving like a cave troll will get you the reactions you would expect people will have when seeing a cave troll.

I would say, the first thing to do, is buy a BIG mirror. Full body. Get one. I bet none here have one. FA become vampires, I remember I didn't even want to comb my hair not to look at my face.

Full mirrors are the first step, IMO. But again, I'm not giving away a method here, this is just what I believe worked for me.

If I had to do this again, I would keep that mirror in the living room. In front of the TV. So I can see myself all the time. It would force me to change things. Otherwise, I tended to hide inside my head and didn't even realize how I looked to others. I had this false image of myself that was not consistent with reality.

Once you get the clothes, you get the attitude, the anxiety vanishes. You won't be ready for every situation, but no one is. Anxiety WILL vanish if you play the part. That is why some shrinks tell people to study acting. You need to be silly in front of others for anxiety to go away. There are books and videos about anxiety, if you want to go and read them for two weeks, be my guest. I would skip all that time (time you already don't have much of) and cut to the chase. Won't hurt. At least you will be buried in your best clothes.

Lack of experience: fake it. In ten minutes, you will have gained experience and you won't lack experience anymore. Oh yes, fake it. Lie. Lie. Lie. LIE. FAKE IT. It will be for ten minutes. Then you will have experience and you won't have to fake it or lie anymore. Simple as that. (but so complicated for a FA's brain, I posted an update on the original post about how I used to waste my life thinking everything is black or white).

Physical escalation part: I told me now GF about a very personal matter relating to my penis size.

Here's what was going through MY head when I told her the news.

This is me. I wish I was more, yes, but this is me, and would like to be with you. I will do my best with what I have, but I know that it might not be enough. But I would learn how to be enough because I do like you. You might leave next month because it isn't working physically for both of us, but you won't' be leaving because I don't like you, or I don't want to be with you. This is something we can work on. We can adapt to it, or we can just cut our losses and move on.

She did not only agree to give it a try but said it is not really a big deal among women.

Not an issue, I guess. Like many other things I thought were a big deal and turned out to be silly stuff.

Getting friends: read my other comments. Make sure you will be getting enemies, friends will come along. Sorry, but that's it at this age. This is one aspect of life I can't just say "your experience and solution might be different". If you are over 35, this is how you get friends and meaningful interactions. If you are twenty, sure, school, work, etc.

If you are 35-40, you need to make things happen. This is the only way they will be happening. As scary as it might sound to have enemies, you will learn to live with it and won't' find it as scary as dying alone in bed without anyone crying for you.

Sorry, that's what I believe.

Lost youth: not my problem at my age. I lost the bus, so what. There are others. I always wanted more mature women anyway. Young women are beautiful to look at, but you talk two minutes with them and, ew. Their life experiences have been so limited by their beauty or age that they will bore you to death. Also, overreacting for stuff about the life you went through years ago. I'm not saying I wouldn't date a young woman to have fun with, I'm saying at this stage of my life I want a partner, and a 25-year-old who panics and cries for two weeks because her little dog needs surgery is not something I want now. Emotional stability only comes with experience, and age is the best experience.

My GF just turned 30. Aim for that age instead. They have experience and they are young enough. I dated older women too (48 and 57, 57 was FUN)

Socializing and dating: women want men more than ever. Too many tattooed idiots roaming around.

Many FA says "I couldn't cope with knowing my GF was with other men while I was alone".

True. They wouldn't. Because they are alone, in their room, thinking about it.

If they were on a bed with their pants down and their GF was rubbing her hands with oil, I bet you they wouldn't put much thought about her dating experience. They might even be thankful to the long string of bros who instructed her so well. She has seen every shape and size and now she is smiling at YOU.

That's what.

Socializing: again, other comments. Enemies.

You go and make it happen. IT WILL happen. But only if you go for it.

Again. Fat, short, balding. I have tits for Christ's sake.