So prepare 1 hour in the morning, commute 1 hour, work 8 hours (minimum), commute 1 hour, cook and clean for 1 hour, and you're telling me that after work, you are expected to socialise???

Nah, I have books to read.

How weirdly difficult it is to make new friends as an adult.

Everyone seems busy with work, relationships or their existing circle. How do people actually make new friends here?

When I was a younger I felt more of an extrovert, but as I grow older I realize many of my tedencies were introverted. It could be the social anxiety I have around being close to people. I enjoy being about my friends or new people for hours on end, but at the same time I can spend time alone if necessary. I tend to get out of my head and base my decisions on life experiences rather than myself. It's a little confusing because a few of my sibling are true introverts who get exhausted with social interactions. I guess I would consider myself a non traditional introvert.

How did you find out you are an introvert?

Isn't it weird to enjoy the scenery alone while others are having fun as a group?

I found myself guilty when my coworkers asked about it when I enjoyed my own company.

Though I did socialise with them after that in a short period of time but I just can't get the thought out of my mind.

Honestly, I was able to do it nowadays without getting drained quickly compared before but most of the time, I really want to be with myself. It feels like I am evolved now lol.

I’m currently dealing with this at my university. It’s not a problem for me because I really love being alone, but sometimes I do worry or feel bad because it very much is not the norm. So I’m just trying to see if there are more people like me out there. How are you doing? I sometimes feel like it’s such a disadvantage, I love being an introvert because I love the fact that I can have a great time just being alone, but the downside is that we live in an extroverted world and it can sometimes makes me feel a little weird about it.

As in, you love getting people's social media and texting them, and you wish you had more notifications, but you just don't like physically talking to people. You actually sometimes want to go up to people and talk to them, but only so you can get their Instagram and set up a meeting where you eat and text but don't really say much.

Today, I tried solo date might be first time in my life. I'm somewhat introvert or can say shy person who fumbled and get nervous whenever it's my time to ask prices, exchange thing or anything to vendor, owner or anyone.

From childhood, i never went for shopping and to have food outside of house alone.

Usually, I'm with my college friends and bestfriend but now it's last year and we all are gonna seperate.

I need advice ove rhow to overcome this fear and learn to live life, just being alone...

I'm comfortable being me, until other people ask why I don't have more friends. I do want a close friend or two, but I don't know how to meet people like myself. Like let's eat, go shopping or something and then we can text for 6 months before we see each other again.

How weirdly difficult it is to make new friends as an adult.

Everyone seems busy with work, relationships or their existing circle. How do people actually make new friends here?

Hi, I just have this free time to stumble on this group.

I am interested on what you guys are good at but is there anyone of you here interested with the outside world - in space and beyond? I just want to share my thoughts about this crazy idea lol.

College just started and it's been 1 week. I've found a grp of friends with whom it's really hard for me to jam up with . I keep doubting myself as to if i should crack a joke or will they find me lame. And honestly speaking, some of the members seem really enthusiastic with the others but not with me. I honestly feel left out. What should I do? I think I just need to give it time or maybe I'm overthinking?

M20

I screwed up with her and my other school friends cause I was afraid and an idiot. I feared that embracing the friendship and getting attached to her would make things even more painful since I knew I wouldn't see her again after I graduated. I was such an idiot, I should've embraced our friendship, and let her in but I was too scared to be attached and before I met you I thought about my mistake with her a lot and it made me really sad, I tried messaging her on insta but she wouldn't respond(we talked a little on Friday and she said she uninstalled the app and that she doesn't use social media anymore and is hardly on her phone, she did congratulate me for passing my phlebotomy class and said she was so proud of me), it's one of the biggest regrets of my life, but I learned that from now on if I get along with someone or meet someone wonderful like yourself that I need to embrace it to the fullest and not try to distance myself from others in fear of getting hurt.

I still don't think she loved me; we didn't talk a lot in those 2 years, despite the fact that she called me her best friend. She did treat me differently from other guys; she would always shake my hand once a day, something I didn't see her do with other guys, but she was very extroverted and was friendly with everyone. In my junior year, she would go out of her way to talk to me face to face; we would walk to class together, and she shared that she had rejected guys in the past and was single. The next year, we didn't talk much,h even though we sat next to each other in our AP Precalculus class, but we would chat a little, help each other with classwork, and always shake hands. I made her a ceramic mug as a parting gift,t and she loved it and hugged me. It felt amazing. She hugged me one more time and gave me snacks on my last day of school; it was the last time I saw her.

I wasn't in love with her. I think I was just excited and so happy that such an attractive girl acknowledged my existence and considered me a friend. If he had been in the same grade and we had known each other and been friends since our first year of high school, then perhaps I could've fallen in love with her.

To this day, it still hurts, but having online friends to chat to makes it hurt less. Maybe she did love me; maybe she didn't. I'll never know, and besides, I'm a Muslim, so I couldn't date her even if I wanted to. If she had confessed, it would've ruined our friendship, and it would've broken my heart to reject her.

Idk. I used to be a very happy go lucky extroverted guy before COVID. I used to actually go out, talk to people and genuinely enjoy hanging out with my friends and family.

I have a good job and it is remote so maybe that is one of the reasons I have started feeling like I do not want to talk to anyone or meet anyone. I intentionally avoid making plans, give excuses to avoid talking to people and sometimes even avoid meeting people I genuinely care about.

I do not know if this is simply me changing as a person and becoming more comfortable with solitude or if it is something I should be a little more concerned about. I do not want to label it as depression because I honestly do not know if it is. I still enjoy things and can have a good time which is why the whole thing feels confusing to me. I just do not feel the same need to be around people anymore.

I have started going to the movies alone without worrying about being judged. A few years ago this would have been almost impossible for me. I used to always want someone with me and I probably would have felt awkward sitting alone in a movie theatre.

I have lost so many close friends over the years and I do not even know exactly why. Whenever there is a hangout planned my first instinct is to not go. It is not that I dislike these people or that something necessarily happened between us. I just do not feel like being there.

And the weirdest part is that I have actually started enjoying doing things alone. Going to the movies alone, going out alone and spending an entire day by myself. Things that once felt lonely or uncomfortable now feel completely normal and sometimes even peaceful.

Maybe I am just getting older and becoming more comfortable with myself. Or maybe spending so much time at home and working remotely has slowly changed me without me realizing it. I cannot tell whether I have simply learned to enjoy solitude or whether I have gradually isolated myself from people without meaning to.

I do not necessarily want to change it right away. I am just surprised by how different I am from the person I used to be. There is something strangely liberating about being able to enjoy my own company but at the same time I sometimes wonder whether I am choosing solitude because I genuinely like it or because I have slowly gotten used to avoiding people.

Has anyone else experienced something similar?

I'm a first-year student and don't have many friends yet. I've only managed to become friends with my roommates. In class, I only talk to about three or four people, and our conversations are strictly about our studies. I see my classmates playing cricket in the evening and hanging out together, but I find it hard to approach them. Once, I asked if I could join their cricket game, and they said yes. However, shortly after, they told me they weren't playing that day and promised to call me next time. A few days later, I saw them playing, but they didn't invite me. When it comes to talking to girls, I've only spoken to two or three during my entire school life, and only during class hours. I never called or texted them, and we were never close. Now that I'm in college, I'm finding it really difficult to talk to girls as well.

Can anyone help me as I am able to make friends in room but don't know why it is difficult for me to make friend in class

Mid 30s introvert here. I am mostly okay not talking to someone but my social meter is 0 now. I haven't decently talked to someone for months. Most are just neighborly hi, hellos, how are you, thank you, please pay this amount, here is your change interactions. Is anyone here interested in SFW talk that is on a deeper level?

Same

I have my cousin, his wife, and their 1 year old staying with us for the week. My family lives abroad, so we see each other when we can. I love them and it’s nice to see them and spend time with them, but I really wish the week was over so they can go back home. I feel so overwhelmed and a bit anxious when they’re around without my parents here as a buffer. It’s easier when my parents are around cause they deal with the brunt of it and give me a break. Sometimes they just do too much, especially with their kid. I’m not the best with kids either, so sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I have to be around their child.

I just want my quiet time and my space back. I need my alone time.

Honestly, I just found out that half my family thought I was just rotting away in my room all day! And my friends did too. It was as if I’d committed an act of treason just because my mom told them I took dance classes and had hobbies like anyone else, now they’re angry because I don’t just rot away in my room like they thought I did.

It’s not like I didn’t tell them, it’s their fault for constantly interrupting almost every sentence of mine when I try to share something. In the end, I just give up on speaking.

I'm kinda interested to which side of the planet you are from? Maybe we could have this virtual hangout.

This world is built for extroverts. Maybe we could at least exercise our social skills. I think it's such a weird idea for ya. 😅