Challenges of making friends
Hi. I always feel scared and I have pretty much no self esteem. I suffer from social anxiety in particular and it's debilitating. I don't feel safe in my body and therefore it's hard for me to talk to people. i wish I belonged somewhere and had something in common with someone. Lately, i've ditched all my hobbies because of depression and I feel like i have nothing to talk about with people. I feel like i've become an uninteresting person and i want to change that. I'm looking for hobbies to start small with, since I easily get overwhelmed with change. I am so so scared of trying new things out and I don't feel confident at all. I hope that this uneasiness will fade with time and practice.
Do you ever feel like you can't connect with other people for some reason or another? How do you face these issues?
Looking forward to read your responses.
@hardworkingBeechwood6063
It is difficult to keep up your old hobbies when you have lost interest. I have not taken anything new up but instead keep doing blacksmithing which i have done with my best friend (Only Friend) for 3 years now. I don't get anything but exercise out of it and i no longer feel connected to my friend but i soldier on. I am told that my interest will return at some point. I wish i knew when.
@hardworkingBeechwood6063
It sounds like you’re experiencing quite a bit of anxiety, which is never fun to deal with.
I think it helps to try to connect with people you have common ground with, so finding something that interests you could be step 1. Could be something simple that doesn't require learning something new i.e. If you like to read or listen to audio-books you could join a book-club etc.
I hear what you’re saying about the social anxiety and especially when you currently feeling uninteresting. I myself have previously experienced this, as an introvert. What helped me was exposure, so putting myself into social situations. It’s challenging, but you need to walk towards the discomfort and then try to sit in the discomfort in order to move through it. Tell yourself, it’s a wave, the anxiety will crash. I’m okay.
You mentioned being scared to try new things and I get it, there is definitely safety in what we already know.