Whenever I meet someone new, I feel so awkward. I feel so self conscious of myself sometimes, from the way I talk, walk, and look. Why do I feel so self conscious all the time?

Thats totally normal to feel the way that you just expressed. When we meet new people the unknown is what really scares us, which is why we look for gratification in what others think of us. You are not wrong or weird to feel this way, it is super valid in all aspects. Before you go into a situation like what you expressed repeat something you feel good or love about yourself to yourself, so you go into the social situation with something you are confident about. This way you can keep in mind that you are an amazing and beautiful human being.

don’t worry, i can feel this way as well. I have found that it can come from insecurity with self. I don’t mean how you look, how you talk, walk, all that stuff; i mean you. this feeling of self consciousness can come from past experiences of negative reactions of other people, directed towards you. you could have internalized this and grown up with it, and now you’re actively dealing with it. this is completely okay. feeling self conscious is difficult to deal with, and i truly sympathize with you. I want to introduce a form of self-therapy that is commonly used in this situation. rejection therapy is the act of purposefully putting yourself in position where there is a guarantee you will be rejected. this could mean asking if you can have popcorn at a dunkin’ donuts. ridiculous right? now we know dunkin’ donuts does not sell popcorn, so there is the guarantee you will be rejected. of course this can feel intimidating at first, you might be a little anxious. THIS IS OKAY!!! i encourage you to feel these emotions. there is no such thing as a bad emotion, it’s just how you deal with it. start slowly and simple, you could start with people you’re comfortable with and work your way up to the public. i also strongly encourage you to start doing things by yourself, such as eating at a restaurant, going for a safe walk, dancing, etc. get in tune with yourself and get to know yourself more and more each day, and hey, if this doesn’t work out for you that’s okay! everyone is different and has there own ways of doing things.

Feeling self-conscious is perfectly normal. A lot of us feel self-conscious, at various intensities and frequencies. From my experience, I find that being self-conscious tends to be a consequence of having low self-esteem. When we're not confident about our skills or accepting of our personality and short-comings, we tend to be more conscious because we're afraid, not only that other people will judge us, but maybe that their judgments will confirm the things that we are already insecure about (for instance, that we're actually not tall enough/funny enough, etc.). I think the first step is over coming our self-consciousness is reconciling with the fact that everyone has insecurities, some are just better at hiding them than others. This helps us feel less alone in what we're going through. Practicing affirmations can also really help as they can slowly build up or confidence and help to replace a negative thought pattern with a positive one. And always remember that you have so much to offer, irrespective of what your perceived short-comings may be. If you learn to accept all parts of you, a rare ability in itself, then others will also respond to your more positively and you might find it easier to make new friends and maintain healthy relationships.