Advice on learning social skills
Hi. This may be a little long, i am looking for advice...I have been struggling with social anxiety for at least 5 years. I went through high school(and actually most of my life) as an extremely quiet person and at some point the shyness turned into social anxiety. In high school i had a core group of about 3 friends i had known since early elementry school and i never really learned how to talk comfortablely with new people. Now i am in 2nd year university and am overwhelmed with all the new people and am struggling with making new friends.
I go to a couple of groups and the people are friendly but i am so awkward to talk to because i am not good at carrying a natural conversation or letting my guard down. I realized tonight just how visible my discomfort can be, as a couple people causally asked about my home life(which by the way is great, i have a fantastically supportive family who are the only people i can relax and be myself around).
I hardly even let my guard down for my 3 good high school friends, it takes me so long to trust someone enough to let them see me relaxed and for me to comfortably share my opinions. When i talk to new people my thoughts come out jumbled because i am so nervous. I am so scared of judgement and have such underdeveloped social skills. I dont know what to do. I know it will take practice but how do i start?