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Alongstory23
2 350 M Embraced 3
PathStep 1 Compassion hearts85 Forum posts24 Forum upvotes66 Current upvotes66 Age GroupAdult Last activeSeptember, 2026 Member sinceJuly 14, 2026
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Personal Growth and Dating
Men's Issues / by Alongstory23
Last post
 1 day ago
...See more I want to start a thread that I hope can accomplish 2 things. 1) Be a bit of a journal for myself to chronicle the work I am doing in my dating and social life in a semi-public space and 2) Be a place where other men can see my process, learn from it, offer counsel or advice and hopefully help them in their own dating lives. Right now I predominately do not use dating apps and intend to keep it that way. I meet people through friends, running (run clubs) and volleyball. I'd like to branch out and meet people in even more activities than these, but its a good start.  In this process I want to become less judgemental, more courageous, and more generous. Let's start with that.
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Tackling Social Anxiety
Anxiety Support / by Alongstory23
Last post
 July 18th
...See more Hey There- New here. I recently listened to a podcast where the therapist asked his patitent to talk to strangers for 2 hours on a train expressing all of the things he is ashamed of in his life, and this pretty well cured him of his social anxiety. If you are interested in listening to the episode it is from TEAM-CBT with Dr. David Burns.  While at this moment in time I'm not yet approaching strangers on a train, I thought it could be a good experiment to try to get out some of the shame and social anxiety I feel here on this forum. I feel ashamed that I am single as a 36 year old male I feel shame around not yet figuring out dating after my divorce I feel shame that I've spent a lot of time reading books and putting in effort to analyze and improve at dating I feel shame that despite all of these "efforts" I have only dated a few women in the past 2 years I feel ashamed that I choose to invest a lot of my time into distance running and trying to improve at distance running I sometimes feel ashamed I don't make more money I sometimes feel shame around not quite fitting in I feel shame around not having a core social group that I hang out with all the time and prefer more one on one friendships I feel shame around wanting to date someone in their 20's  I feel shame around wanting to have a big family I feel shame that I don't give more to my relationships (friendships, etc.) I feel shame that I've broken up with most of the women I have been with.  Thats all for now. Thanks for listening. It does feel a little cathartic
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