Hi Wtfawk, welcome to spw! I
try not to think of it as "forcing" myself into social situations but rather convincing myself that there's really nothing to be afraid of. I think self-esteem and self confidence are the issues that cause a lot of people with SA to allow their negative thoughts to take control of their lives.
What's helped me most is having goals for myself and working toward them, rather than just hap-hazardly throwing myself into the world and expecting to "get over it". Sometimes it seems like my whole life people who didn't understand my SA would tell me that I just need to get over it, but it just doesn't work that way. Overcoming little things will help a lot with SA and feeling like you've accomplished something or really challenged yourself makes each situation a little easier, imo. For example, after I'd done about ten job interviews I started to actually enjoy the immense feeling of relief and accomplishment that i'd get afterward and looked forward to having that feeling again...it's like turning it around so that the anxiety you experience is less important than the feeling of being proud of yourself for stepping out of your comfort zone. So, yeah, sorry for the rant, the moral is of course it's possible. Make a plan and treat it like a goal rather than a setback. Hope this helps.