I am 25(M) and never even touched hand of opposite sex, at this point i am kinda sure that im going to be alone in my life, but i just cant get over it. I am ugly and skinny, and as for recent started going bald. Have some heart issues so no heavy physical work. I have no chance. So i wanted to move on from this state of mind, and just focus on work and hobbies. How can i do so? Do you have any advice you can share?

  • Bazoogle@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago
    1. Get a therapist. You show clear signs of distorted thinking. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help you to retrain your brain to identify cognitive distortions that can lead to depression.
    2. Talk to people in person more. The internet and social media has ruined a generation, and we are only just now identifying the impact in research. A whole generation has spent their crucial developmental years on social media rather than in person. Socializing is kind of like a muscle. You need to do it frequently to get better at it, like working out. If you stop for a while, you will lose it. If it’s been a long time since you’ve socialized, it will be especially difficult. Get creative, and find someone to talk to in person (anyone, same sex or different).
    3. Meet new people. If you are not meeting new people, how are you going to find the person you want to be with. If you only go to work and the store, you have to meet your person either at work or the store, or hope they come to your front door. If your person was 1 in 100 (which is pretty decent odds) you’d still have to meet 100 new people. How often do you meet new people of the right gender, age, sexuality, and relationship status? How often do you meet people at all? It could take you a decade just to meet 100 people period if you aren’t talking to anyway. If that’s the case, how are you supposed to meet someone? Dating apps can work, but it can take just as long.
    4. Date people. Date literally anyone that will date you. Dating is about meeting new people, and learning what it is like to be in a relationship. There is no commitment, nor should there be any expectation of a long term relationship. You need the ability to mess up in a relationship so you can learn and grow. Don’t go into a relationship thinking that’s the one, because it probably won’t be. The time spent with them is beneficial nonetheless.
    5. Improve yourself. Learn new things, get new hobbies. Get passionate about things. It doesn’t matter what it is. People like anyone who is motivated and working on themselves, even if they aren’t interested in it themselves. You may find a partner that is into the same things, but it is unlikely. It is not very attractive if you sit at home and watch TV and play video games all day, especially in a depressive state (which is why the first point is so important).
    6. Don’t expect anything. Don’t expect a certain feeling when you meet someone. Don’t expect a perfect relationship or a perfect person. Really, a relationship is just finding someone that is compatible enough with you. There isn’t anything magic about it. If you saw it on TV, it almost definitely isn’t realistic. You will have fun together, you should enjoy going through life together, you will butt heads and argue about stupid things, but it isn’t a movie.

    But seriously, work on your depression first. You can’t do any of this while in a depressive state. If you can’t get a therapist, you can try practicing CBT on yourself. Check out this list of cognitive distortion. Read them all and recognize them. You must know what they are before you can identify them. Once you have learned them, you can recognize them when they happen. There are lots of ways of combating cognitive distortions. One way if a cognitive distortion pops up in your head, repeat it in your head in a silly voice. Such as goofy or something.

    Some cognitive distortions you have displayed in this thread:

    1. Fortune-telling / Catastrophizing – predicting a lonely future without evidence that it must turn out that way.

    “I am 25(M) and never even touched hand of opposite sex, at this point i am kinda sure that im going to be alone in my life”

    1. Labeling / Negative filtering – defining the entire self based only on perceived physical flaws, ignoring positive traits.

    “I am ugly and skinny, and as for recent started going bald.”

    1. All-or-nothing thinking / Overgeneralization – assuming that health limitations eliminate all possibilities for relationships or fulfillment.

    “Have some heart issues so no heavy physical work. I have no chance.”

    1. All-or-nothing thinking – believing only heavy lifting equals being “in shape,” dismissing other valid ways to build fitness.

    “heart issues mean i cant go to gym and start lifting and stuff, so cant get in shape”

    1. Personalization / Mind-reading – assuming that others would see him as a burden, without evidence.

    “i dont want to burden anyone with my problems”

    1. Comparisons / Mental filter – focusing only on what others have and what you lack, creating jealousy and self-criticism.

    “All of my friends already have some experience, and im not… so im really curious and jealous of not having that level of intimacy.”

    1. Overgeneralization – making a sweeping judgment about all people in your environment being unfriendly.

    “Im not from US, but my place is not good either, people are gloomy and mostly not friendly.”

    1. Mind-reading / Emotional reasoning / Labeling – assuming others will see you as ugly and feel unhappy with you, treating your self-judgment as fact.

    “im sure nobody wants to wake up and see and ugly face beside them, they gonna feel awful seeing me, i dont want to ruin someone happines”

    • Goodtoknow@lemmy.ca
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      11 days ago

      CBT can br quite harmful, DBT os where most professionals lean these days. Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

      • Bazoogle@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        That is simply not true. CBT is absolutely proven to be helpful, I’m not sure where you got the idea it is harmful. It is not effective for treating everything, like trauma for example, but it is widely used and is absolutely not harmful. CBT and DBT have different emphasis on what they are trying to treat. Check out this article (or plenty others) explaining their differences

          • Bazoogle@lemmy.world
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            11 days ago

            I tried googling it myself to see what you were seeing, but that was one of the few articles I saw. I do not recognize the site nor does the author seem to have any other published works. Here is a meta-analysis for CBT efficacy: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3584580/

            The meta-analytic literature on the efficacy of CBT for depression and dysthymia was mixed with some studies suggesting strong evidence and others reporting weak support.

            The efficacy of CBT for anxiety disorders was consistently strong, despite some notable heterogeneity in the specific anxiety pathology, comparison conditions, follow-up data, and severity level.