I'm 25 and live in my own apartment right now, but I'm done studying soon and have to move in a month... will probably have to move in with my bf or parents for a while until (or if) I get a job. I have lived in shared apartments at four different periods in my life (shared bathroom and kitchen) in order to try and beat my social anxiety.
The first time I never ever left my room and survived on dry bread.
The second time I lived with a friend and only went into the kitchen if she came with me.
The third time I went into the kitchen and bathroom if it sounded like nobody was in there (which sometimes meant I had to talk to my roommates, who were very nice actually).
The fourth time I locked myself into my room for 2 days, then my roomates (one french and one polish girl) invited me to drink wine with them and play cards, and it was a lot of fun and I could live there quite comfortably after that. Unfortunately they moved out after a year, and I was unfortunate enough to get the worst roomate ever known to mankind. She treated me horribly, called and complained about me to the landlord for ridiculous made up reasons, brought friends home constantly (and they Always hung out in the kitchen), and was just... horrible. So I moved in to the apartment I live in now, alone
But to answer your question, how to deal with it: it's... a gradual process, I'd say, if anything. And you have to invent some survival methods for yourself in the beginning. When I moved to my first apartment (mentioned above) I piled up on things a lot (bread, toiletpaper etc) so I didn't have to go shopping too often. I never answered the door... The biggest issue living alone I think is making telephone calls, because sometimes you really have to, you can't escape it. It's good practice however, to live alone. And if you can find the strenght inside to face this horrible fear a bit, it might give you a push and help you get better
