Milton, I know what it's like to live that isolated life and the shocking experience of trying to break the behavior.
It is definitely a behavior, a lifestyle. We adapt to it and as much as we may consciously -hate- it, it's actually our normal state and a deeper part of us writhes about when we try and change it (or at least, that's how I've felt). Part of it may just be normal introversion, but -constant- isolation mutates it in to an ugly thing.
A single trip to Wal Mart can't break it. I used to try and break it with occasional outings in to the real world to try and mingle. I believe I've made more than one post regarding torturous summer afternoons watching happy couples and groups of friends playing on the river and in the park. It SUCKS, and all it does is drive us further in to our seclusion by making us feel ugly and out of place.
A true exposure therapy is just that, constant exposure. Start small with -routine- sojourns to the outside world, public places. Find a way to be comfortable with yourself; your attire, look, posture etc. From there, move on to chatting up service workers and people in lines. After that, you have to try and make friends; at work, with a volunteer group, or at local events. It's scary as hell and you will experience frequent episodes of tachycardia and possibly angina from the anxiety, but you have to make yourself do it.
It's hard, but it will eventually work.
EDIT: Had to comment on a few things.
Going to Walmart? That just makes me jealous of all the happy people.
>Implying people in Wal Mart are happy
I've never done any type of drugs in my entire life but that girl was so carefree. She partied. She had friends.
Yeah she has friends until life actually happens to her and her friends are too drugged in to retardation to be worth a honeysuckle.
As an EMT I responded a few months back to a heroin overdose. Some moron fuckin' worthless kid trashed on his friend's bathroom floor basically dead. What'd his friend do? Doused him in ice water. Good job, fuckwad, now he's hypothermic and his airway is at risk. It's a **** good thing they don't issue us ambulance guys firearms.
And rest assured, when you're about to die from an overdose, your fuckwad party friend will call us because suddenly things aren't all dandy and rosy. They think we care at 3 in the morning and suddenly 'The Man' is the coolest guy in the world. We will come, and we will pull you back from the brink, and it will be incredibly unpleasant. Depending on what you do you will be subject to the whims of an ER Nurse stuffing a hose down your throat while you are conscious (we're not allowed to be grouchy or mean, but ER Nurses have special training on how to be grouchy and mean at 3 in the morning when they have to do things they dont like).
Do they really lead a good life? Their experience is limited to their shitty addiction, day in and day out, and the scorn of others. They leach off of the vulnerable people in their lives whenever possible in terms of money and pity. Their parties are irrelevant and more or less destructive and they are the honeysuckle in society's toilet. The worst part is, each and every addict really did have other choices at one point. All you have to do is make yourself take the path and make the commitment.
And don't ask about weed. Weed isn't for people in our condition. All it would do is exacerbate the problem like a bandaid on an infected wound.