Insecurities of a Man.

One of the problems of having social anxiety and depression as a man is the struggle with the romantic life. I've never had a relationship since 23 that was 10 years ago, because of these issues which have also made me into an online gamer and homebody. I literally don't go out other than my sister's house (which I'm always there) and work. Throughout my life I've always been afraid to approach women who I liked and had crushes on. People would usually ask "Why don't you try online dating? It's easier to meet people on there and converse if you are shy and anxious in real life" ,as if it is significantly easier to meet someone online than in real life, not necessarily. I stopped playing online games last October when I found out Steemit.

I'm on like 1-2 dating applications/websites but have not had any success on them despite me liking and messaging women. I don't send boring messages either, I send messages that are genuine and usually reference something in their bios if they have one. I understand also that there is a lot of competition because of the high men to women ratio so you won't really get noticed unless you stand out. Now for me, I hate having my pictures taken because I have low self-esteem and hate how my features look, but yet in order to have any success with online dating, your pictures kind of matter to a woman especially as a guy, because you're expected to "showcase" your personality and who you are through your pictures and portray what you can offer to women. This is the problem...it's hard when you are insecure about your appearance because not only does it prevent you from wanting to take pictures and put them up on these applications/sites, but the mental illnesses prevent you from having a social life that can allow you to take pictures of yourself doing some kind of activity that looks fun and interesting to women. It really is a double-edged sword.