I just realized, sometimes in the early morning I get on BL and respond to posts before I'm actually out of the haze
I used to really struggle with social phobia type issues. Shit, I still do. These days, the big difference is that I'm more inclined to take the attitude of, "I'm just going to be me and do what feels right and if it makes you uncomfortable fuck off."
I used to love opioids in particular because they'd allow me to suppress the feeling of discomfort I'd experience when I was around others and felt like I had to fit in and conform. Opioids worked really well for that, giving me the chance to experience a certain degree of pleasure amidst a life of inauthenticity. Of course, the downside is that once I'd built up enough of a tolerance to their effects and had to take more, there were also more side effects, and, well, things got a bit too complicated for me.
That sucked because I neither had the tool that I'd been using to deal with life (opioids) yet still found myself in the same, unsustainable place in life (identity wise). It was sink or swim, and for a good many years I definitely sank down pretty deep.
But I digress, sorry OP
Back to the topic, do you have any tools, skills or habits you can use to help manage feelings uncomfortable in social situations like that? Ultimately, I loath places like the mall and have learned to stay well away (for a number of reasons). When I do need to partake, I make up a kind of get-in-get-out strategy, so there is as little hassle (and thus stress) as possible.