Working holiday. Need ideas. Going out of my mind

Taiwan Moving to Taiwan
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So I landed 22nd Oct, I’m on a working holiday. I’m from England, I’m 30, My background is in IT. I have a Taiwanese Wifu, we currently living in Taipei City.
I kindly ask for any advice on what I can do to stop me from going out of my mind. Specifically advice on what I can do to help me get in to some kind of routine here. I’m wide awake at most times and having little to no sleep each night.
General advice, such as pulling my finger out of my arse and getting a job is a no brainer, I would love that very much. However I feel I need to establish some kind of social network first, along with hobbies and interests to keep me busy.

One tiny caveat is that I carry with me major anxiety issues, of which medication is out of the question, but would have been my saviour in a previous life - without going in to too much detail here. I spent the whole day getting ready to go find a gym only for my mind to tell me not to step out of the bedroom for fear of anything

Be kind

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What do you like to do?

There are many clubs and teams to join in Taipei. Many of us play on some sports team. Martial arts imo is pretty beneficial for the mind as well.

Lots of hiking trails in Taiwan as well. Not for me as i’ve had knee injuries, but other people enjoy it.

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Thanks for the reply. I’m not the sporty type, but is there a good way to find groups of like minded people?

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Hiya. I’m not the sporty type, but is there a good way to find groups of like minded people?

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But what do you enjoy doing?

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Sorry, avoided the question because I really don’t know. I was stuck in a hole for ten years back home and had little in the way of life

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I think a good one is art classes. I started to learn how to draw and it’s nice. I don’t love it or anything. But it’s pretty neat to have the skills to draw something.

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How would I go about finding such things?

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meetup.com abunds with events where you can meet people. You can start with the boardgames events, those are usually small-sized and no need to make big efforts to socialize, playing the game does that for you. Toastmasters are also great events, very supportive.

Obviously at some point you will need to get help with your anxiety, but here’s how I dealt with mine:

I used to be scared of going out to events, meet people, even just bring my laptop to the nearest Starbucks and work there. So I went by this method: I’d ask myself what is the closest thing to what I am afraid of–socializing with people–that I could manage to do.

At first it was just stepping out of my room and walk around for 10 min. So I’d do that. Not telling myself “I’ll go to the gym and get a membership” or even “I’ll strike a conversation with someone,” just “I’ll walk on the street, look at the pavement and do that for 10 min.”
Eventually I got comfortable to that. So I asked myself again, “what’s the closest thing to socializing that I can do.” That time I took a walk, and made eye contact with people. When they’d notice me I’d smile. Nothing more, no words exchanged, just a look. Again, at first it wasn’t comfortable but that was something I could still do. Maybe some days I couldn’t, then I’d just go back to look at the pavement. But slowly I managed to work through this eye contact thing.

Then came sitting at a Starbucks, doing my work. Then, small talk with the barista. After that, giving a compliment to a stranger on the street. Then, making small talk with three people on the streets. Every day I’d set myself a goal that seemed achievable yet just next to the edge of my comfort zone. Eventually I managed to bring myself to a point where I’d strike conversations with girls on the streets and get their numbers.

So again, the point is to set yourself achievable goals, make baby steps. At any failure, take a small step back. Even if you just start by looking at people by the window, that’s a start. Progress slow but steady, and eventually you’ll start getting more active.

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A lot of social activities are found via work or school contacts with varied interests.

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I can vouch for meetup.com. The events I’ve gone to have been quite friendly (and I was nervous being the oldest dude there, but no problem)

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