Social Disaster

I would concentrate on joining groups with a common interest of yours - like local history groups.   There will be others there with the same interests so you can talk about interesting things.    Odds are they've gravitated there because they feel the same as you so you'll all be in the same boat.       Talking about a common interest often means the subject is more important than the social graces so they are more forgiving of your mistakes.

Yeah what you say makes sense, I’m academic but being a history geek who likes the abstract or niche areas of history often doesn’t impress anyone - that aside I don’t always make the best decisions and due to struggles with empathy and social skills, I easily lose friends. At the moment I have the one - she’s been a friend a long time beyond that there is nobody right now :-/

Do you have any things that you learn or skills you hone to try to impress others?

I think a lot of friendship is based on what someone brings to the party, in a sense.

At the moment I have more or less no friends, except the odd one online.

I'm trying to learn the acoustic guitar and keep on improving my diet in the hopes that if I get musically talented I'll be able to entertain others, and so they'll see me as worthy friend.

It seems everything in life is like a bartering or trading exchange.