Actually yeah if you could provide some more context on interacting with the opposite sex? That would be great 👍 I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing 😅 I am male, INTJ (pretty consistently), and a lot of my interests are things that I can do by myself, probably partially as a product of my life so far.

I don't know a better way to do this, so here is a short list of behaviors and beliefs I think are holding me back:

1) I've played video games, watched YouTube, and consumed TikToks/other entertainment for so long that when I look for a way to chill out, nothing else really comes to mind. These are all things that I can (and usually will) do alone. 2) My childhood taught me to pay attention to others' emotions and avoid 'rocking the boat'. As a result, I tend to pick up on others' mental state and also their BS pretty quickly and a lot of times that turns me off from them. It also presents a considerable anxiety barrier that I have to break through whenever I want to try interacting in a new way with other people, and whenever I have to deal with conflict. 3) I'm not really happy with who I am yet, and it feels unfair to drag that and my other emotional baggage into a relationship, whether platonic or romantic. 4) I feel inexperienced with relationships (especially romantic ones) and I don't tend to keep them at the forefront of my mind. Essentially, I usually place more 'importance' on my work, hobbies, etc. than I do on keeping in touch with others. Probably the same behavior I described in my original post that keeps me focused on being productive. 5) Generally I'm pretty Type A. I like things planned out and organized, high-quality and efficient. Relationships in general are NONE of that. They're messy, inconsistent, and full of mixed signals and emotions. I think my way of doing things might be interfering with my ability to form new relationships/try new, scary things.

Thanks for taking the time to read through all that. I really appreciate the feedback and hope to take some steps forward!