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Struggling to Make Friends with Social Anxiety

Synne

750d

What's the best way to make friends?? Really been struggling I have social anxiety...

8

13

13

Anxiety (Including GAD)

Cardiac Murmurs

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Top reply
    • Niuou

      748d

      @Niuou But also! Some of us with social anxiety don’t really understand how to explain it, or we can’t tell what it is that we exactly struggle with. Sometimes we don’t know until years later and sometimes we may never have a specific answer for why or what we’re anxious about, when it comes to socializing. And that’s okay! 💕 In that list from my first reply, you don’t need to worry about the second one if you’re unsure right now. I would focus more on deciding who would be compatible with your personality and communication style. And finding people who share the same or similar interests, hobbies, and experiences and such. It’s worth mentioning that there are different methods of communication. I learned how important it is to always be aware of this because of my experience with the deaf community and autistic community. For example you can use emojis, images, or gifs to communicate instead of using words. There’s a messaging game that I sometimes play with people who I’m getting to know: message them using only emojis to describe a Disney movie, and then they have to guess what it is. After they guess correctly or give up, then it’s their turn and so on. ⭐️ More suggestions: take a Sign Language class, consider working closely with horses or learning how to train dogs, volunteer or work at a job with children or seniors, look up books, articles, and websites about learning and improving social/communication skills, practice conversation skills with other people with social anxiety and also with extroverts. You’re more than welcome to message me anytime, if you want any recommendations on how to find communities, resources for dealing with social anxiety or helping with socializing, or if you just wanna chat! 🌼 I believe in you, friend. 😌 You can do this! 💕 (also, I’m sorry for typing so much! I hope I didn’t overwhelm you)

      2

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      Chat
    • HeyReese

      748d

      Find your people. People who embrace you & support you. You are an amazing person, you deserve to be loved for who you are— even if your conditions are an “inconvenience” to some people. The right people won’t be like that. As long as you love you, that’s what matters. I lost a lot of friends due to my celiac disease. Even more with my chronic pain. But I went from having tons of shallow friendships to finding my ride or dies. College can be scary for sure, but it’s a great place to make friends & find out what type of people you enjoy being around 🤗

      1

      Reply
    • AwkwardMoth

      748d

      The best ways I've found are starting small, compliment a coworker or friend of a friend and they'll usually open up more. Join a club or go to events like farmers markets, conventions, music shows where you'll find people that already share some interests. Look at online spaces where you can join something recurring or long term, like a book club or game league.

      1

      Reply
    • Niuou

      748d

      I have autism, anxiety, ADHD, and sleep disorders that all work together to make my social life/skills… not good. After high school, my friends eventually stopped talking and responding to me. Since then I’ve been trying to figure out how to make friends nowadays. I think I have some helpful suggestions and recently I think I finally found a potential friend who could be more than just an acquaintance. 1. Think about how you identify and nouns used to describe yourself. Make a list of these. Like interests, beliefs, gender identity, sexual orientation. Example: Writer, artist, realist, non-binary, queer, perfectionist, procrastinator 2. Think about what you struggle with specifically or what makes you anxious. Do you feel like you don’t know what to say? Is it hard to start and maintain conversations? Do you fear being judged? Do you feel that awkward silences are unbearable? Are you self conscious of things like having a quiet voice or physical features for example. 3. List your interests, passions, skills, hobbies and maybe your current/past occupations or dream jobs. Many people find that the best and easiest way to make friends is by finding someone who has stuff in common with you! 4. Now, based on the things from #1 and #3, it’s time to find somewhere to meet people. Start with online communities that are local, domestic, and global. These can be forums, support groups on social media like groups on Facebook, reddit, Neighborhood app, social networking apps/sites. 5. For online communities with people who are local, you can develop a relationship that reaches a point where you can talk privately using text or audio or video chat, and then meet in person

      1

      Reply
      • Niuou

        748d

        @Niuou So referring back to #2, about your social anxiety, it helps to address your specific struggles and when or in what situations they apply. Like do you have social anxiety interacting with people online, that is severe enough to impact your ability to develop friendships/social relationships? Or do in-person interactions trigger your anxiety more, since there’s a lot more going on in IRL situations? Depending on #2 and whether you experience it online and/or offline, you have a starting point on how to find a solution or something that’s helpful for you. Think of it kind of like a personal project or problem-solving task: first you identifying a problem and then you work to fix it.

        0

        Reply
        • Niuou

          748d

          @Niuou But also! Some of us with social anxiety don’t really understand how to explain it, or we can’t tell what it is that we exactly struggle with. Sometimes we don’t know until years later and sometimes we may never have a specific answer for why or what we’re anxious about, when it comes to socializing. And that’s okay! 💕 In that list from my first reply, you don’t need to worry about the second one if you’re unsure right now. I would focus more on deciding who would be compatible with your personality and communication style. And finding people who share the same or similar interests, hobbies, and experiences and such. It’s worth mentioning that there are different methods of communication. I learned how important it is to always be aware of this because of my experience with the deaf community and autistic community. For example you can use emojis, images, or gifs to communicate instead of using words. There’s a messaging game that I sometimes play with people who I’m getting to know: message them using only emojis to describe a Disney movie, and then they have to guess what it is. After they guess correctly or give up, then it’s their turn and so on. ⭐️ More suggestions: take a Sign Language class, consider working closely with horses or learning how to train dogs, volunteer or work at a job with children or seniors, look up books, articles, and websites about learning and improving social/communication skills, practice conversation skills with other people with social anxiety and also with extroverts. You’re more than welcome to message me anytime, if you want any recommendations on how to find communities, resources for dealing with social anxiety or helping with socializing, or if you just wanna chat! 🌼 I believe in you, friend. 😌 You can do this! 💕 (also, I’m sorry for typing so much! I hope I didn’t overwhelm you)

          2

          Reply
    • lora53

      749d

      I go thru that as well,and I have no idea how to fix it

      1

      Reply
    • bomb

      749d

      it’s hard, but reaching out is the best way. talking to people helps. it’s hard to make friends when you don’t talk to anyone 😅

      1

      Reply
    • Buffy50

      749d

      I have social anxiety as well, and my social life sucks because I'm bed-bound to an extent due to severe chronic pain. I'm always looking for new friends online.

      1

      Reply
      • Synne

        749d

        @Buffy50 I'm so sorry to hear that so far I've met some nice people online as well.

        1

        Reply
    • AJM

      749d

      I've been using dating apps or just apps where you can chat with random people for friends haha. I've met some pretty cool people. Currently trying to get more involved in some communities I can join but there doesn't seem to be very many around me. Maybe you can also ask your current friends to introduce you to their friend groups :)

      1

      Reply
    • strugglebus

      750d

      My suitemate has social anxiety, and she had to find group partners because the professor wouldn't assign them, and she loudly said "oh no. How will I ever find a partner?" And someone turned to her to be her partner. Which is the person she wanted. So sometimes you have to set the trap for extraverts

      1

      Reply
    • lele_lysie

      750d

      I completely understand this, it can be so hard. Joining clubs or sports can really help. It will help you get out of your comfort zone and meet people! Be confident and put yourself out there, its scary at first but so worth it. Here for you❤️

      2

      Reply
    • Iz684

      750d

      As scary as it is, sometimes you just have to talk to someone. I was a new student at a high school for my senior year and it was horrible trying to make new friends I have anxiety like that too. But I would just try to talk to people around me and I actually met some great people. Work up to it, practice what to say and stuff and try to build confidence. You got this ❤️

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      Reply

☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

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