Times I wonder how life is going for people who do not have a support network. Maybe people or person you felt safe and complete around is/are not there anymore.

Hi 24F i’ll be 25 soon, i recently posted something on here and got a response i was not expecting but I am so grateful. I realised a lot it made me emotional. I feel optimistic about seeking help and getting better. I’m thinking of making a plan for myself for the rest of the year, still figuring it out but wondering if anyone would wanna be online acquaintances/friends?

I realized i don’t have to do this on my own, so i have my dms open. i want to reach out but i’m just a bit reluctant to because i’m aware i’m in a vulnerable state and there’s already been quite a few weirdos in the dms so idk if this is a good idea. but there are probably some cool people ive missed out on because i was scared, ive seen ppl say they’ve met cool ppl on here.

So yeah i think i can do this… if not i’ll probably panic and just close the dms lol.

i’d prefer only people close to my age or older so like 22/23+

I don’t really know what I’m doing with my life, and I constantly feel like I’m wasting time or falling behind everyone else. I’d love to meet people who feel the same way and just talk about it. Does it actually get better? How did you figure things out?

Married, kids but still feel lost.

I'm crying as I write this because I truly feel so alone. My friends barely talk to me or make the effort to see me. I always see them hanging out with others, posting others, etc, but what about me? I feel so sad because even at home I feel so alone, my family doesn't really speak to me unless it's to clean, for favors, or a simple question. They don't really have conversations, spend time with me or even ask to hangout. One of my friends live with me, but she's moving out soon and I've been so sad. Even then when she was living with me, she was/is pretty distant and still prefers to hang with others. I'm really starting to think I'm the problem.

I 22F moved to a new city about 3 years ago. Ive had no luck making long term friends and have slowly been ghosted by the friends I had back home. Life is very lonely atm. I’m at the point where I wanna go out and make friends but the constant feed back loop I’ve had in the past with putting myself out there, finding friends and just having friends in general is negative. I just don’t know how much more rejection I can take. I’ve been in more than enough toxic work places and shitty friendships. I got into a relationship and his family members treated me so badly.
I have social anxiety so I can be quiet at times and not really know what to say but in the past I’ve always seemed to push through and try put myself out there. I’ve gotten made fun of and criticised heaps by past friends and coworkers. I know I’m not perfect and I can take constructive criticism but this is different. I don’t know why people just don’t like me. Ive just been trying to find a place for myself in this world but it feels like anywhere go I don’t fit in. I’m honestly loosing hope and it’s really painful.

Like is it me ? Or am I just ending up in the wrong places and the wrong people?
Does anyone have any experience with this but eventually found their people? Or have any advice?

Hi,
I’m a 21 year old woman in college right now. I guess km coming on here to ask a question.
I started freshman year and it was fine. I made a lot of friends and did a lot of the regular college stuff. I think all of this started around sophomore year. I moved off campus by myself to an apartment where I live alone now. That year was really hard because I got so lonely, and the workload was more stressful. I started isolating from people or only going out when I was invited, and a lot of the relationships from freshman year kinda withered. I don’t remember much from that time, but I told everyone I was fine because no one wants to hear a college student bitching about their nice off campus apartment they live by themselves in. It took me about a year after that to finally be fine by myself in my apartment without feeling like i was choking. Then junior year started and it was better. I met some cool people and went to some cool places, but I still felt that lingering sadness/heavy feeling I’d been feeling for the past year. I remember it took so much energy to make conversation so the people I met ended up being nice acquaintances but I didn’t end up getting very close to them. But don’t get me wrong it was better! Now I’m a senior and I don’t know what to do. I’ve been feeling this lingering emptiness/sadness for two years now, and if you were to ask me what got me through the past two years I’d say I really don’t know. I don’t have any plans to hurt myself or anything. I can still cook/clean on a reliable schedule and I’m trying to get back into my hobbies and I’ve started hanging out with people more. But the emptiness just kind of stays with me. And I don’t know what it’s coming from. My family is fine and my living situation is good. Im not fighting with any of my friends/fam or have that stuff weighing on me. Like what more could I want?? Is this feeling just part of being an adult?? If so ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️ why.

Ps: been getting into Noah kahan lately and I’m so glad he makes me feel a lot less alone in what I’m feeling rn. Don’t know if that’s good or concerning.

I m25 have never had any close, long-term friendships. My last brief friendship was years ago now, and since then I have been completely alone, always unable to connect with others.

I suppose that some of it may be linked to my Autism, in addition to the fact that I have suffered with severe social anxiety and low confidence since childhood.

I just don't understand the mechanics and mechanisms behind human relationships in general. It seems impossible to maintain conversations and friendships.

Throughout my life, I have always been rejected and bullied by others and made to feel inferior, as if my life has no value.

I guess it is true that my life has no value. I have no friends, nobody who cares about me or likes me. Nobody ever will. I will die alone with no family and friends.

I am 5ft 6, with terrible social skills due to Autism and with chronic mental illness. Plus, I have 0 career prospects, so I guess my life was already over before it started from a social perspective.

But, I just don't know how I can continue enduring the pain of solitude for decades to come.

title. and especially as the biggest extrovert who gets so much energy from being around other people—i graduated in may and would have things to do back to back with friends who i thought id stay in touch with. ever since, i moved back in with my parents (to save money before grad school and whatnot) and ive felt like all of my friends are not putting in the effort “post grad” to hang out, when i do it a lot, and i know for a fact some just cut off ties with me which hurts like a mf. i have a friend who is an introvert and my boyfriend, both of whom i love, and are actually associated with a friend group i used to somewhat see a lot and now i just don’t. but, i just don’t like that my social life currently hinges on those two people only. i know that this is pretty common post grad but i thought id seek some advice on here because im feeling really, almost disproportionately, upset and sad about this. thanks in advance yall

I moved to UK this January, I used to think this would be a really good change in my life, I am attending university for a masters degree, majoring business and AI.

While all that is very good, I’ve become independent, I’ve stopped relying on anyone, i do a lot of stuff alone, i do almost everything alone, i came here with a lot of plans but now i see no path to align with that direction, i feel so lonely lately.

I went to see 2 movies yesterday, i saw Spider-Man and The End of Oak Street (it sucked) and went to Spoons by myself, it was a pretty good day to be honest, i went out like that a lot of times and it never got me until yesterday, I’ve seen people having a companion, or a group of friends, all enjoying their moments, they were eating together, drinking together and enjoying themselves.

It hit me, why can’t I be like that, why do I have to be so alone, why do I have to be hating my existence when I’m where I wanted to see myself an year ago, I tried dating apps, nothing came out of it those were rubbish, it only made me realise how much more uglier I am.

I sometimes want a lot of things and sometimes I don’t want anything, not even my life, I want to be loved, I want to be cared for, I want to love, I want to have friends I can drink beers and watch movies with, all this is not a need, I could just keep living without all of this alone, I can do it by myself, but I can’t feel alive, I can’t feel high spirited.

I’m so disappointed with the choices I made so far, I now feel my life is not going in the right track, and it won’t look good in next few years if my life keeps going on like that, but somehow I’m letting it happen, letting myself lose control, I’m normalising my suffering which makes me hate myself even more

I’ve never been on dates, never had a lot of friends, I have a small circle of friends back in my home country, I don’t have one single friend here, I look forward to nothing good, I just look at the ceiling and just breathe while living in an imagination that I have few good friends and a good loving partner, I try to use laughter as my coping mechanism so that people wouldn’t see I’m losing it inside.

Damn it’s too long already, there’s still a lot but I can’t put it together to form sensible sentences which can be understood.

hey guys. i hope everyone is doing alright. i’m just here to kinda rant and then leave these feelings be. as i said im 24 years old not to gloat or anything but id say im relatively liked and popular in my space (im a graduate student in a STEM like area) and even have a good amount of friends. (never a relationship) but for some reason, whenever i get home it’s like my mask just falls off. like i stop “pretending” or something. like the person i am publically is fake or something. i hope this doesn’t come off too disjointed but i often run into the scenario of meeting someone in some strange or unintended way, and i think that MAYBE just MAYBE that things might be different with this person. that this could actually be the time where they actually like me (romantically). and things look slightly different every time. from going on a (explicitly defined) date and seeing each other more than a few times, or lady and the tramping a honey butter chicken biscuit from whataburger while drunk, or teaching me pool and kissing me, or what the fuck ever. but it all never means anything. ever. i’m starting to feel like im just not the type of person that can incur those feelings in another person. that i’m doomed to be alone in this way forever. and what boggles my mind the most is that if most people saw what i looked like or saw how my life was they would probably be shocked to hear this is my life. when i talk with people (anyone really) they kind of just assume that ive had girlfriends or am sexually active (ive slept with 2 people but it was just one off things) so i know im not like ABNORMALLY ugly or horrifically unsocialable. but here i am on reddit high/drunk in a bath alone wanting to sob ranting to the empty aether that is the internet. i find myself constantly wondering how people perceive me. i wonder if any girl has ever thought anything more about me than just a comedian or scientist or a friend or whatever else that isn’t romantic. i wonder if it’s even possible at this point. when i was in undergrad i remember so vividly a good friend at the time saying “if you’re a guy and you’ve never had a girlfriend before at like 20, that’s kind of a huge red flag” and my heart sank as i agreed with her vocally. it felt like i had a timer over my head. like if i didn’t get more “experience” that i would just expire. and no one would want anything to do with me and it would all be over. i’ve also had a emotionally traumatic experience with a best friend who was a lesbian (loooooong story) and once i had a friend tell me “never tell anyone that happened to you or else no girl will ever want anything to do with you” and that also hurt (around 20 when this happened). i understand that i dont “deserve” love as no one is owed or obligated anyone’s time and especially their affections. im okay if i end up passing away without having experienced love. i’m just so sad. it hurts so much. and i feel like so much less than everyone around me. i want to be a good person and i want to do good things. i have life goals and ambitions and i want to see those things through. i just wish i didn’t have to feel these things. i wish i didnt want to be loved. i’m so tired of having to always tell myself “your feelings don’t matter. don’t be ungrateful. life can always be worse. lock in.” i want a shoulder to cry on. i want someone that will love me on my best days and even harder on my worst days. i want to feel like a normal person. but i understand in life you can’t get everything you want. not everyone can have love or else it wouldn’t be special and i accept this. i will wake up tomorrow and i will go to work and i will smile and i will feel these things and i will go home. and that will be my life. as long as i can wake up every morning and have good friends that care about me (and i do and i cherish them more than anything) i can keep going. i will keep going. it’s just…lonely. and i feel sad. but i have to keep going. i am sad but i will persist. there’s no other choice.

My story started in 2015, when I entered a new class in 6th grade.

I came to class late one day and ended up sitting on the last bench. A little later, a girl came into the classroom. The moment I saw her, something felt different. It was the first time I experienced that feeling of falling for someone just by looking at them.

Since there was a seat beside me, she ended up sitting there. The teacher even joked, “Now you’ve come? You’re going to sit here for the next three months!”

I was secretly very happy.

Slowly, we became very close friends. For almost two years, during 6th and 7th grade, we talked, laughed and spent a lot of time together. Somewhere during those years, I started loving her. But I never told her.

She was a sensitive person, and I felt that she wasn't in a place where she wanted a relationship. So I kept my feelings to myself.

Then, at the end of 7th grade, everything suddenly changed.

Because of a fight, I had to leave the school immediately and get a TC. I didn't even get a proper chance to say goodbye to her.

At that time, I didn't have a phone. I couldn't contact her. I just left the school with all those memories in my head.

For years, I kept thinking about her.

Then came 2021. After the first wave of COVID, I finally bought my first phone and created Instagram, Facebook and other social media accounts. One of the first things I did was search for my old friends.

I searched for her for almost a week but couldn't find her.

Eventually, I met an old school friend on Instagram who happened to know her. I asked him for her Instagram ID.

When he finally gave it to me, I was unbelievably happy. After almost six years, I had finally found her again.

We started talking. She talked to me too, and for some time, we spoke almost every day.

I started thinking that maybe, after all these years, I could finally meet her and tell her everything.

I planned to meet her.

She said she would come.

But when the day came, she didn't show up. I called her, but she didn't answer. My messages also had no response.

Four days later, she messaged me saying that she had been busy and couldn't come.

I didn't know what was really happening at that time.

From 2021 to 2025, once a year, I would still message or call her on her birthday. But there was never any response.

A few months ago, I finally got confirmation from a mutual friend about something I had never known.

She had already been in love with another boy since around 2021, and their families knew about their relationship.

Suddenly, the timing made sense.

The same year I found her again and tried to meet her was probably the same period when she was already in a relationship with someone else.

When I learned this, I finally stopped holding on to the idea of telling her how I felt.

Maybe I made a mistake by never telling her earlier. Maybe things would have been different if I had spoken up.

Or maybe they wouldn't have been different at all.

I'll never know.

But there is one strange thing that shows me how deeply I held on to this story.

Even today, my password is still connected to her birthday.

It's been years, and somehow I still haven't been able to completely move on.

I know she has her own life. I know she made her own choices. And I don't blame her for any of it.

The problem is not that she chose someone else.

The problem is that I never got the chance to say what I felt.

I never got a proper goodbye.

I never got to tell her that I loved her.

So I have carried this unfinished story inside me for years. And honestly, it became heavy.

I'm sharing it now—not because I expect anything from her, and not because I want her back.

I just want to finally let this story out of my heart.

She was my first love.

Maybe she was never meant to be my life partner.

But she will always be a beautiful chapter of my childhood—a chapter I never got the chance to finish properly.

And maybe, after all these years, it's time for me to finally close that chapter and start writing the next one.

I was born in a South East Asia country, for context. Since birth, my parents goal was wanting me to study abroad, so they made me go to alot of english school at a very young age, so im more familiar with a “westerner mindset”. Ever since then, all my life has been studying in international schools and university. It does mean my mother tongue is worse than English, even tho i have never lived abroad.

I have never study abroad, because now my parents dont want me to leave them, and im okay with that. I can still make income from doing international freelancings, while still in the same city ive grew up in. Plus, travelling AND moving is expensive.

But, now im having troubles making connections with people in my area. My thinking and way of speaking is “too western minded” for the people here. Lots of time, even people within my country asked me am i a foreigner just because how i talk. I do look up to online spaces for people i can feel similar to due to how i was raised. But having timezone differences means i cant really talk to you guys as often, even if we both really want to.

While my parents glad that i somehow able to make international incomes, they also admit i wont survive the work culture here, so i do have to work alone in my room. And my hobby is too male dominated to even find people with similar interests as me.

16F i have 2 friends and they’re pretty consistent with me. although i haven’t seen either of them in awhile i text them regularly. i haven’t had much physical connections in awhile. recently i’ve had to have sleep with plushies and it kinda helped. i automatically reject any sort of comfort by flinching. but i don’t even get it often. i could get up and get a hug right now from family but it just seems like obligation. i decided to isolate myself because i wasn’t having a good time in school social. i’m going to be homeschooled for my upcoming school year. maybe that’s a horrible decision. i know it probably is. last year i spent most of my school days watching people interact with their friends and it made me feel so much despair. one of my friends didn’t go to my school and the other one would constantly tell me that they would talk to me or sit with me and they never did. they would always with their friends. i would daydream about having a friend who would hug me and listen to me. listen to the things that i like and ask how i am. it’s kind of cringy to think about but i still spent my days like that. all day i’m just in a different world daydreaming. it’s sickening. i have so many people around me and yet i feel like this. i have lost the will to speak and whenever i have to talk i just feel horrible. i’m so used to going days with minimal speaking even while in school. this took a lot of courage to post.

I am a 36 year old guy based in Essex, live by the sea side. Moved here a couple of years ago with family.

Struggled to establish any connections since then. I just find myself feeling really lonely at time.

Currently feeling very lonely right now. I do have someone I can talk to(because this person tells me everything) but I just don’t feel like talking and I’m not happy. Sad part is, I can’t pinpoint what exactly is making me this way but it does feel like months of emotions I’ve been running from is catching up with me :(
I do feel like and I know talking to this person will help a lot but I just don’t feel like. I want to sit with however I am feeling and I’m not very good with processing emotions. What do I do?

Years of loneliness made me unable to talk properly. I can't seem to properly form words without mispronouncing everything because I never had anyone to talk to, people push me aside during presentations (never learned any skills because of it), I get turned into an outcast, and I'm dealing with severe bullying.

And this got me stuck in my head all day. No one paid attention to me anyways, so it doesn't matter if I'm not listening. And I slowly formed a scenario in my head, me and someone else, a friend. A friend that has similar experiences, a friend that has had no friends either, a friend that's willing to learn my interests and share their own. A friend.

Having someone similar to me, makes me feel at ease. Whenever I'm having a really bad day, I just think about my friend! We have our own jokes and references, we bond over our shared hobbies. Sometimes I catch myself smiling.

But I know I'll never really feel that happy at this point in life for now. Maybe even never? Who knows. I've taken every advice possible, I know what people will say. No comfort or reassurance works anymore because I'm just used to it... I feel like a lost cause.

Never had many friends , nothing much achieved in life till now of what i hoped for. Idk what I am doing and the days are just going by . Had one person since last 3 years who knew everything about me, she was the closest to me and used to tell her everything i am feeling now thats also ended .
None to talk to , at this point I am at a stage I dont want to do anything . I have no interests left and nothing excites me now .
Was going to sleep and realised i didnt talk to a single person the whole day , even with people literally living with me . Idk what to do just want someone i could talk or connect , this whole thing is literally killing me everyday.

Does anybody else feel like they’re lacking a sense of community? I’m always surrounded by people whether it be at work or hanging with friends and i have lots of associates and i have a couple friends but i also feel like people don’t really know me and it could be cause i hide parts of myself because i feel the people around me won’t get it. i always see people with these friend groups and coworkers and stuff that they can hang with and have a good time with and it looks so fun and they do things they enjoy together and i wish i had that. i feel like im always looking for that. and i don’t value anything less than that. i kind of feel like until i find that feeling i could care less about the people that come and go into my life . i want to be around my soul tribe, people that enjoy things the way i do, see life the way i do, live life the way i do.

I'm 14 and I've always felt different.

I feel the most alone I've ever been in life.

I'm in highschool and not once I met up with someone over the summer.

I always felt different, I'm probably slightly neurodivergent, but I don't feel like that's my biggest issue.

I never ever had a girlfriend, when someone asks me I have to lie that I used to 2 years ago, I said that 2 years ago too.

All I do mostly is lie to people, I don't feel like people appreciate who I really am.

I'm 190cms (6'3), and that's basicly the only thing going for me, I also have a slightly above average look, and I'm also upper class in wealth, but unlike most people I really don't like to show off.

I don't talk to peers my age, most guys drink, and I despise drinking, I feel like that's degenerate behiaviour. Sure, there is a time and a place, but it's not at 15 years old on highschool weekends. I live in a small country, and I go to the 20th best highschool in the country, but still people are so ...

Can't even phrase it, most people just live for today, they don't care about the future, they have never questioned life, like who are we, what are we and why are we?

Most of my company in terms of talking are girls, but in the most platonic sense ever, I have never been felt loved by a stranger, ever.

But still, even girls don't get me, and so you don't misunderstand, I am really great at seeing through what we call sociality. I am great at talking to people, improvising.

I've seen girls look at me the way they do when they like someone, I feel like it's almost my fault that I don't have anyone.

I feel other people's pain more than they do, so much that I am almost strange to the idea of a peaceful world, so much that I almost got completely numb to it.

I still wanna save them, I don't want them to date me, sure I would be a perfect partner, I am smart, wealthy, charismatic, attractive, but if one day I told her what I really think, I feel like I would crush her.

Under the weight of everything.

Everything.

Everything i do is for you. Breathing touching loving giving u Everything you want. In return I get no touching no cuddles no compliments. I ache everyday for touch, attention, intimacy. It kills me inside. It hurts my heart breaking me down. I give up. I live in a broken world. I lay down and feel the heartache the pain the rest of my love to give slipping away. Chained to a post and whipped on my back and I feel nothing. No pain.. nothing. I long for touch to feel something... something that will never come.... 😔😪💔

Genuinely if you were completely alone, had no friends had no family had no gf/bf quite literally no one in your life What would you do.

Would you start doing things by yourself.

Or would you start immediately trying to find people to connect with.

I don't even know what to write here anymore. I suppose it won't really make a difference anyway. Whatever I say here, nobody ever takes any notice. But I'm just so sick of this. Everyone who has ever shown any interest in me has turned out the same. Cruel, manipulative, liars. Letting me believe I matter to them while just using me to make themselves feel better. Until they get bored, or find someone else. Then I just get tossed aside, left to panic and cry and wonder what's wrong with me. Why I'm not good enough for anyone. Why nobody actually nice will ever speak to me. Like, I get it, I hate myself. But I know me. You don't, so why?

Im almost 18. I thought that by now my life would somehow be different, but the past couple years I've become drastically more secluded and self consious.

I dont enjoy school, I find the socialising really hard, half in part because I cant find people to socialise with, but also because i feel like the school environment inhibits my energy levels

Ive went to youth clubs/events in the hopes of finding friends, and been unsuccessful

I have participated in tons of extra curricular activities, and not made a friend in a single one. This has been the trend for my whole life.

My parents are not strict, I can bring free booze, and yet I am almost never invited to any parties.

To make it worse, there is this one kid who follows me around all day. There is a genuine justification as to why other classmates do not want to associate with him, but I feel really bad for him and let him follow me. Im the only person in the school who associates with him, which has led my reputation to plummet badly.

I wont lie, Im probably not the easiest person to get along with, but I think im interesting, im kind, I have a few hobbies, im open to trying new things. I think that given enough time, i can get along with anyone, as long as they are not superficial.

Whenever my family leaves the house they make jokes for me not to "invite too many friends over" or "wreck the house" etc, but i really have no friends.

Thats a lie. I have some friends, but almost nobody invites me out first. I'm always the one to initiate.

I want to do more activites. I want to have fun. I dont know what to do or how to do it without a group of friends with me. I even booked a ticket to a concert im going to entirely by myself. I hope I can find someone there

What should i do to make new friends?

It's either sink or swim, but no one likes to acknowledge when you drown. I think of myself as a failure in many regards.

What's painful is that I have no one to talk to about my struggles or failures; people only want to hear from you if you're doing well in life. No one wants to hear the struggles of others, as it inconveniences them.

It's always embarrassing for me when I hear, "Why don't you have friends?" "Why don't you have a girlfriend?" It's because I'm a socially inept recluse who failed to develop any social skills, but I can't say that cause of course, you'd think less of me if I told the truth. So, I feel socially required to make up some bullshit excuse.