Making connections

@MartianGirl347 I've had very similar experiences making and keeping friends. It's very difficult to go through, for sure. Finding someone that you feel safe with, that understands you is truly rare, in my experiences. I wish you the best in life, you deserve it!

@MartianGirl347 so relatable. I moved to a different place a couple years ago and really struggled the first year. People take time to earn trust and be friendly. We have to make them acquaintances first and slowly find common ground and familiarity.

Hi martian and friends,

its nice to hear all of your honesty. I think it becomes more difficult to make new friends as we get older. People get busy with families and work. If its any help its nice to keep in touch with a few old friends you like and trust, Even if you only reach out to exchange emails once in a while. As for meeting new ones if you can do what has been suggested above by the others and find activities you like to do, try to see who you meet.

No matter what you will enjoy yourself and be around like minded people and thats always nice. Even if you only see them during that activity. Some suggestions are.. a fun easy drop in sport like badminton or pickelball. Karaoke night, volunteering with people or animals. Taking a class or workshop you are interested in like art, cooking or music. Finding a club like a book club, hiking, baking or language learning club as well. Check at your local college for classes availabls.

There are some good websites you can use too. one is meetup,com where you can find groups in your area. Another is an app called bumble which has sections for dating but also one for friendships in your area. I use a free language learning app also called hellotalk to learn spanish and help others with their english. Also your local community center often will have workshops, concerts and events you can go to or volunteer to help out at. Being a part of events can be good bonding opportunities. One more possibility would be a part time job since many friendships and relationships start in the workplace.

These will put you in new communities meeting different people depending on how comfortable you are online or in person. Im sure you will find a balance of alone time and frienships that suits you. Remember to be honest and people will respect and understand your challenges and boundaries when you need some space. If not, there are 8 billion other people :)

Lots of hugs my friends.

Yes

I'm 31 too and that's what's been happening to me. That's exactly how I feel right now.

• @MartianGirl347 I struggle to make connections too i sometimes get lonely but I've gotten used to being alone for a long time i haven't had any new friends since 2020 when a friendship group had a fallen out. maybe we can be friends if you up to it i am 29

@MartianGirl347 Hey, I totally get where you're coming from. I'm 28, and making friends has been a real challenge for me too. It feels like every time I try, something goes wrong. People either take advantage of me, or the friendship fizzles out. I totally relate to needing those "emergency friendship breaks" when life gets overwhelming.

I'm really glad I found this thread, it's comforting to see other people my age struggling with making and keeping friends.

Technically I know how to meet people and "make friends" but what worries me is that lately, most people kind of bore me and I can't seem to really connect to anyone in meaningful way. I used to get really interested and invested in people easily, there was a certain intensity to it that gave me the energy to maintain conversations. But now everyone's just kinda eh to m. No one's exciting or relatable anymore. And keeping contact and being friends with people I can't actually relate to is so exhausting and drains my social battery.

Anyone know if this is just a phase and/or how to get myself out of this? Seems kinda detrimental to my (already almost non-existent) social life in the long run.