I don't join groups, but here are examples of my work and personal social interactions over my lifetime:
Work: Start new job. Mask in order to be accepted. Establish a common interest with a colleague. Enjoy talking about interests and receiving good feedback on my work. Get more comfortable, start to unmask, enjoy humour. Receive criticism because I'm too loud, talk too long, or have made one mistake (although others regularly do "banter", throw items around, play on their phones and make many more errors). Become distressed and shut down. Get another job. Cycle starts again.
Friendships: Mask in order to be accepted & establish a common interest, enjoy being with new friend, invite them to home or meet up somewhere multiple times, start to unmask, friend starts not being available, I start to realise it's almost always been me asking them to meet up, I get distressed by feeling rejected, I stop contacting them and they don't bother with me either.
Thankfully I am now retired and have a good relationship with my partner.
That last bit. So true. Absolutely always me that initiates doing something which ironically makes me very anxious. After a while I realise they're probably not that interested. Stop asking. Friendship fizzles out completely. Happened more times than I can possibly mention.
That last bit. So true. Absolutely always me that initiates doing something which ironically makes me very anxious. After a while I realise they're probably not that interested. Stop asking. Friendship fizzles out completely. Happened more times than I can possibly mention.
