The White Flag

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As implied by the title, at this point I've more or less given up on the idea of a romantic relationship. I don't even pretend to pursue them anymore. My main hindrance is the fact that I have a rather severe case of clinical depression and my sense of self worth and esteem are both FUBAR. I can't imagine that a girl wants me and even when I do I remain silent. Top Aspergers on that and I find myself in quite a pickle. Guys already have a hard time reading signals (in general), so it makes sense to me that I have an impossible time with it. On the one hand I know that attempting handle a relationship right now would likely be folly for me. But on the other hand it's something I've wanted for a long time. I'm unsure of what to do here. A constant, as it were

do keep talking about it, there are people here in your boat as well.

It's nice to see that you wrote "at this point," and not "forever," because it's very plain to see that your thoughts & feelings about this are due to your current state of clinical depression. This is not a permanent state, nor are these thoughts or feelings, and neither is having to remain single. Get some exercise, eat healthily, see a doctor/counsellor, read some books on overcoming/treating depression, learn some meditation methods, maybe try an anti-depressant drug - just don't accept your current state as your permanent state and strive to change it bit by bit. As far as reading goes, I highly recommend the book "Feeling Good," by Dr. David Burns. It's Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in book form, and you self administer your own depression tests & conduct your own written CBT. I found what I learned reading this and going through the process to be very beneficial. Combine this with several other efforts, and slowly but surely you'll change the hardest and most rewarding thing you could possibly make an effort to change: Your mind.