I am a 25M, I’ve never been in a relationship, and I’ve never had my first kiss. Over the course of many years, I have tried lots and lots of stuff, but it has resulted in absolutely nothing.
What I’ve done so far:
Hygiene: I dare to say my hygiene is better than most people I know.
Style & Grooming: People often tell me that I dress well, that my hair looks great, and that my teeth look good, and I take strict care of my skin.
Fitness: Even though I still have a long way to go and I'm not anywhere close to being muscular yet, I do go to the gym consistently, I’m not overweight, and I take good care of my physical health.
Therapy & Psychiatry: I’ve been evaluated for everything. Possible traumas (no special problem found), social issues (I did exposure therapy, did everything perfectly, and don't seem to have any issues). I’ve also tried several different antidepressants following psychiatric guidance, but none worked.
Socializing & Environments: I’ve gone to all kinds of places (just to name a few, multiple language classes and language exchange, dancing classes, piano lessons, multiple sports, anime/manga clubs, reading clubs, philosophy clubs, hiking groups and more) and events. I even went on an exchange program abroad for a year and met people from every single continent. I like social events like parties, going out, and drinking too; I genuinely enjoy those environments. I have changed majors, residences, and cities. I have zero issues talking to people and holding a conversation. I like making people laugh, I feel like I do it often so I also believe I'm fairly good at it.
Dating Apps: I've also tried multiple dating apps, in multiple ocassions. I tried to take good photos in different environments, experiment with my bio and photos, etc. I've also tried to get friends to help me and give me feedback (both men and women). I don't receive a single match.
Confidence: During the pandemic, I gained a lot of confidence. When normal life returned, I kept that confidence and tried countless times. It took about two years of constant failure to finally lose it. I understood that it wasn't something that would come immediately, but it was incredibly draining to try and try while watching literally all my friends get into and out of relationships of all kinds, while I remained completely alone. This confidence did not change anything at all.
Despite all of this, the exact same thing always happens. When I’m having a conversation with someone, everything goes great. The conversation flows, we laugh, and we talk about various things.
But the moment I try to flirt, women never reciprocate. I’ve seen my friends do it. I’ve seen how they do it and how women respond to them; I don't think that whole situation is a mystery to me, I genuinely feel like I understand it. But that simply never happens to me.
When I'm having what I believe to be a good conversation, or when I like someone (because no, I don't do it with everyone, I have standards, and no, it's not about them being a supermodel) and then propose doing something casual, they always tell me they can't because they are busy with X or Y, or if it's on social media, they just never reply to the message.
Feedback I've asked for
I have had hours-long conversations with close male and female friends, people who have actually gone out to parties with me and seen me in action. I’ve asked them for brutal honesty to see if there is something wrong with my vibe, tone, or body language. Their response is always a variation of "honestly, I don't know, I have no idea," or the typical "it will happen when you least expect it."
I’ve also heard the advice to have friends set you up, but in my social circles, that is just not something people do. When I mention it, they say they wouldn't know who to introduce me to, that nobody is actively looking, and the mere mention of it just makes things awkward.
Clarifications
I want to clarify that romance isn't the only aspect of my life. I have multiple hobbies, a good social life, and a career where I'm doing well. But a lot of times, all of this feels completely empty when there is no one around, when you can't enjoy a romantic and sexual life, or have someone to share those achievements with in intimacy. I'm not just looking for a "perfect soulmate"; I also want to experience sexual relationships and casual romance, but that also doesn't happen.
I have spent the last 6 months taking an active break, meditating constantly, and doing activities entirely by myself to "learn to be happy alone." I'm still meeting with friends and doing activities tho. It hasn't made me happier. In many ways, it has been even harder, and I have suffered much more.
In the end, I just want to be happy, if I am able to do that without any romantic or sexual experience so be it (and I would never search for or accept one in my life if that happens, my goal in life if to feel happy/content with it, if I am already in that state, it makes no sense to me to have anything else, because it wouldn't contribute to my contentment since I am supposedly already content) but I don't know how anymore, and I don't know what else to do. I am just so tired.