<human>: Hey,

Growing up, I constantly dealt with severe anxiety. These feelings have receded for the most part, although I still feel uncomfortable in crowds or large groups. In spite of this, I've managed to maintain groups of friends, for whom I feel extremely grateful. Once I'm comfortable with someone, women included, I feel totally fine- but in the wild, I just can't face it. Even when I'm drunk I just feel extremely shy towards girls.

Throughout high school I had a very poor body image- I was a walking stereotype. Tall, gawky, geeky, glasses, braces, mildly overweight, clearly dressed by my mother. Around the time I turned 18, however, my body shape started to change drastically- my metabolism quadrupled, my shoulders broadened, and I started to develop muscle. I eventually (albeit very slowly) learned how to dress myself as well.

And in the last few years (I'm now 21) its come to my attention through various means that, at least physically, I rank fairly highly among males. I should also note that, in spite of everything, I'm not a virgin. I've had one (awful) long term girlfriend, and I've had sex with a close female friend (although this essentially ruined our friendship- but that's another story).

I catch girls giving me "the look" on a fairly regular basis, and it honestly makes me extremely anxious. I'm very, very sexually frustrated, but the idea of being attractive to girls fills me with dread and self loathing. After years of feeling like a complete wreck, I just can't shake the feeling of wanting to be invisible.

Example: I was just at 7-11 (about 45 minutes ago), and encountered a girl from one of my classes. I had caught her looking at me a number of times during class, and she was trying to make eye contact with me inside the store. I couldn't go through with it. I instinctively ignored her, and felt completely overwhelmed by the situation. This is usually how it goes.

So what's the deal? How do I cope with the opposite sex and just feel normal?

Can you provide a brief overview of the text?
<bot>: A history of bad anxiety and terrible body image prevent me from interacting with the opposite sex, in spite of few real barriers.