Slowly...

Out of all your friends...who's your best friend. It doesn't matter if you hvaen't talked with them in forever. Don't let guilt get in the way. Who's your best friend?

Reach out to them first, as you will be most comfortable taking this first step with them.

Once you're on a daily chat with them, look for another friend to reach out to. Follow the same steps, then add another.

Someone isn't responsive? Don't take it personally. They may be busy or may share the same anxieties as you do. Drop them a "Hello" every now and again and move on to someone else.

*Hugs* Best of luck with getting back in touch with your friends! :-D

thank you very much, your reply is much appreciated

Well, I agree with Swift Fox, but I do want to note that some people might not reply right away

I am one of those people, so i can understand that completely

Same here! Usually if i am on the site, and somebody replies to me on the site I am currently on, I will reply as soon as I can, but if I am on a different site, and somebody replies, well, I won’t reply until I go back to that site.

And, I am glad you understand!

Idk if this might help- But this channel has helped me a lot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVxKF5SuVC4

I still have this. in a way i think we don't "get over it". we learn to cope, hide the emotions, and try to be more "out there" when we can, but then we become exhausted being out there that we have to learn to take time to recharge. i have ups and downs. i tell myself i need to be more social but do bare minimum to be. i self sabotage all the time to subconsciously not have to deal with trying to be social. but i will stress what swift fox said. its slow. its gonna take time. and its hard. but dont give up. just keep reminding yourself real friends will be there for you along the way.

Being online I guess, IRL I havent found a method yet .-.

Echoing Swift on this one!! I have a terrible, terrible problem with this at times - especially if it's been several months (or...longer... OTL) since I last spoke with someone, but I mean...life happens! Sometimes things spiral and descend into chaos, turning someone's life into a roller coaster of "oh hecking no, please just stahp already" madness. Chances are the other person will be more than understanding and even be ecstatic to speak with you again! Goodness knows I've had my share of dropping off the face of the earth, only to randomly bomb friends again with "HELLO YES I AM ALIVE" messages lmao.. Honestly, I'd just do as Swift suggested and pick one person at a time to reach out to!

Always wishing you the best, fam - hang in there!! ♡ ～('▽^人)

As someone who suffers from STRONG social anxiety, it takes time and practice. The only reason I'm better at it today is my job FORCED me to be in situation that were nearly overwhelming. Exposure to very anxious situations helped me A LOT, but it's not necessarily the best method to overcome things. I STILL absolutely dread talking on the phone, talking face-to-face, and other social situations even if I know they're coming up. However, I try to look at each event as something that might help me grow/progress/get closer to being more okay with more social situations.

In this case, practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes every step just slightly better. It may take 100 steps. It may take 1,000,000 steps. But each day gets you closer or ever so slightly more comfortable. Start by trying one thing or by talking to one person, or maybe even start by putting yourself in a safe and secure situation where you can interact with others. Ultimately you have control over more than your mind lets you think that you do, and that includes the people messaging you. Don't worry if you don't want to reply to some or you can't reply to some messages. If you can reply to any of them, one or more of them, THAT'S significant progress. And if you can't, that's not bad. There's always another day and always another time you can try. You do you, and hopefully each day is ever so slightly better (or maybe different) than the last.

If it helps, I'm happy to be a random internet stranger to bounce ideas off of. Feel free to message me if you just need to chat things out with no judgement.

maybe not 100% helpful but set a daily time to message people even if it's just a 10 minute window to check in or say hey, as others have said if they don't reply don't take it personally--life happens!

if you get anxious about talking to strangers in public, just find out their interests and let them do most of the talking, chime in here and there with follow up questions :,>

if you're anxious about what others might think of you, the golden goose of advice is to just not care, if they like you they like you if they don't they don't, just as people have preferences for shows we all have preferences for company

<_> Medication lol

I did do CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and it was helpful for sure but takes a lot of effort to keep up on. So the medication really helps.

I personally got over it (or more like, it got easier) through therapy, but here's what mostly helped me:
Little every-day social interactions + rewarding yourself. Go to the grocery store to buy a little snacc, say hi to neighbours as you pass by. If you're like me and tend to lurk in discord servers, never interacting with them, strike up a conversation for once! Or just participate in one, even if only a little. Baby steps are the key to success!