>>936270697For me it was applying to a temp agency (when I was 28.) I was considered a very strong candidate because I dressed appropriately for the interview and didn't drop my spaghetti or have a criminal record. The agency people accepted the coof as an excuse for part of the gap and politely accepted and did their best to dress up my obvious lie that I did under the table day labor afterward because it was in their financial interest to hire me out somewhere. I got a job at a local factory, made an effort to be hardworking and sociable enough to leave a good impression, and got through their temp to hire program a little over a year later.
For my personally life I basically just took the money I got from that and started going out and trying things out. I went out to bars solo a few times (extremely hit or miss,) took a cooking class, and did some free stuff like join a group hike or a Pathfinder group (which I still go to.) I also made friends with a couple of other young-ish guys at work and started going to church again and doing stuff there. I did embarrass myself a few times but nothing that was unrecoverable and with people whose opinion of me actually matters.