My whole life I have suffered with tremendous amounts of social anxiety, and have very few friends. I am very avoidant of people at most times and have became so secretive over the years that it just seems impossible for me to imagine anything even closely resembling a normal life. I was just wondering, since you started transition, do you feel more comfortable around people and content in yourself, or do you feel worse because of passibility issues etc. How do you find it different now that you are being treated as a woman and not a man? Do you find people are nicer to you, are you able to be "one of the girls" or are you still seen as an outsider. ugh I have always wanted to hang out with girls, and just be one of them, however especially in High School I think I was seen as more of an alien or something. Because I was unable to be a boy, and never allowed myself to be a girl. It seems like I have lost so much of my life. I never seemed to do any of the things normal people do, I never went out to the bars since I was not "one of the boys" and didnt want to go to a place like that alone etc etc. Also, I am sure guys treat you differently now. Do you like it? and, did you find estrogen changed your interactions with people? like do you feel more able to connect to people now that the testosterone is out of your body? Perhaps that would not have too much of an effect, but I think perhaps it makes a person more gentile, and nurturing, perhaps you are able to connect to people in new ways.

No, transitioning didn't help with social anxiety at all. It will initially amplify the hell out of it, though hopefully you'll gain tolerance and the anxiety will eventually fade.
However, I was an extremely gregarious person pre-transition and I remain an extremely gregarious person post-transition, so I can't comment on estrogen making me 'connect more'.
If anything, I have fewer friends than before transition.

Yeah, I know in the short term it will definitely intensify anxiety. But over the long term it may help. I am so uncomfortable living as a man right now, and I think that is really contributing to my anxiety. To be honest I never really tried very hard as a guy to make friends, but I think if I transition, I will be more comfortable in myself, and will put in a lot more effort since my life will no longer be dependent on living a lie. I am a very shy and reserved person by nature, and I would really like to change that.

I had social anxiety back in high school especially but also in college. I forced myself to be more social as a man and I was miserable.

Even though I'm early on in my transition the more I learn to accept myself the less anxiety I have. I don't feel like it's the hormones are doing it as much as much as the self acceptance. I also had very few friends and I gaining more who are accepting of me even through I don't pass.

I think that amazing things happen when you allow yourself to show others who you really are.

Maybe not the anxiety specifically, but I've become much more social in the last few years, and even more so since starting HRT. I've never had real textbook anxiety issues, but more or less not the most social, outgoing person either. The main thing with transitioning is that if there is some other issue there bothering you (this is what some term a co-morbidity) like depression, social anxiety, bi-polar personality, etc it will still be there afterwards unless treated and worked on by itself. Transitioning is not a cure-all for everything. But it will help your outside match the inside.