Welcome Dan,

It probably sounds weird but I feel the same a lot with other people esp regarding making friends. I think one thing I had to realize for me is that there are just some people that I just don’t get along with personality wise. Please don’t think I mean I think I’m better than them, that’s just not of part of who I am but I think about it this way, there are billions of people on this earth, the odds you are going to enjoy spending time with all of them is, I think impossible. I’m not saying I won’t talk and listen to them, Im very friendly but just wouldn’t actively make life long friends with them purely because there likes are not something I would find interesting.

I’m sure your probably wondering, Why am I saying all this. The main reason is that you said you were stressing about connecting with people/ make friends. One question maybe you could ask yourself, is why you feel the urgent need to make friends. I think society defeintly puts pressure on people to have lots of friends but the reality is, this doesn’t suit every personality especially if your an introvert (personality type). Maybe just for a while work on loving yourself and finding out who you are as a person (what you truly enjoy out of life) and forget about making friends. It’s great to have friends but it’s not an end all situation.

Another suggestions maybe the people your trying to make friends with, talk with simply don’t interest you in regards to your likes. An example for me is I love nature, animals ect but if I have a conversation with a person who loves gaming, xbox, technology, I will listen and of course be interested but if the conversation is the same topic over and over again I just can’t fake interest, purely because it does not interest me. And there is nothing wrong with this, it just means your personalities are different. Maybe you could join a group that has the same interest as you eg if you love yoga, join a yoga group……… Obviously doesn’t have to be yoga but I hope you understand what I mean.

I promise I’ll stop talking soon, but one other thing I’ll mention due to personal experience with social anxiety, maybe you find it hard to concentrate on answering because you are constantly thinking they will judge you if you say the wrong thing so you end up agreeing even if you didn’t meant to. Obviously only you will know whats appropriate to your situation but you could always see a good councillor to explore the issue further if you find it is bothering you or interfering with your life.

Hope it helps and made some sense to you. Good luck with everything 🙂 🙂