Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone
I hope you're all doing well. I'm reaching out because I'm feeling quite isolated and could really use some support and advice from people who might understand what I'm going through.
I struggle a lot with socializing. This has made it difficult for me to make and keep friends, and unfortunately, I don't have any friends right now who I can truly be myself around without masking. While I do have friends, they're not close, and I often feel like I have to hide parts of myself when I'm with them.
On the bright side, I have a very supportive boyfriend who I live with, and my parents, who I can also be myself around. They accept me for who I am, and I'm very grateful for that. However, I still feel sad because I don't have any friends with whom I can fully relax and be authentic.
Over the last few months I've began the process of unmasking around my friends, but I've been very hurt in the process and long story short - they've all pretty much backed off / disappeared from my life. I'm not ready to open myself up again just yet to try to make authentic connections. I need some time to recover and focus on accepting my current situation and to reach a place of acceptance and peace with not having true friends.
If anyone else has experienced something similar, how do you cope with feeling isolated or having to mask around most people? Do you have any tips on finding contentment and peace with my current situation while working towards a place where I can open up again?
Thank you so much for reading and any advice you might have.
I really struggle with being alone and isolated.
How anyone can maintain a relationship baffles me? So, you’re doing well if you can and I’d be grateful for that.
Friends or so called friends who turn their back when you speak your truth are definitely not worth it.
I read a lot of self help on relationships which helped me figure out how to do them, I literally needed like a roadmap to know what to do. But looking back, I ended up being treated really badly anyway, and I regret not spending a lot of that time when I was in those relationships, figuring out who I was and doing things that brought me joy instead. 2.5 years ago I was lucky enough to have someone with a heart of gold walk into my life - I still make a mess of things now and again but it doesn't become a big deal which is a real blessing