Actually very confident, but still anxious?
Wondering if anybody else has this issue, because it has confused every therapist I've gone to and made it really hard for me to recover or cope.
I am actually a very confident person. I like what I see in the mirror, I have a healthy long-term relationship, I have friends, and I think very highly of my skills & have a job in my field that I use my degree for. I think I am very funny & compassionate and a lot of people find me easy to be around... As long as I'm the one listening to them, and not the other way around.
It has gotten to the point where I experience incredibly emotional outbursts & low moods because I feel so lonely and so undervalued. When I try to talk to people about things that interest me, they stop paying attention. It has gotten to the point where I am so jittery about any kind of silence. If people don't text me back I see it as a shunning or a punishment. I don't play my music at group gatherings because I'm scared my friends will judge my song choices. I've stopped trying to contribute to conversations because people just interrupt and talk right over me.
I am in this constant state of feeling like an outsider no matter who I'm hanging out with. I can't tell if I'm just yielding too much and keeping people at arm's length out of fear, which is causing the discrepancy in closeness, or if the lack of closeness and connection was there in the first place. I just want to hear from somebody that I am worth their time but any time I bring that up people tell me I shouldn't need external validation. I stopped talking about feeling unappreciated, anxious, and depressed because they just told me to start taking meds.
I've tried making new friends, going to therapy, taking vitamins or medication, mindfulness, etc and nothing makes me feel less lonely. I just want to share my life with people who appreciate me because I feel like I'm a pretty cool person but whenever I get around other people I just get ignored.
@lilacdruid Hi there, thank you for sharing this here. I can relate to sometimes feeling lonely even in a crowded room, or even in our circles. I hear that you did try changing your usual group of friends, alongside other things. I am sorry to hear that you haven't felt less lonely for now. Did changing your friends make things any bit better? Have you considered using meetup apps or links like that to try and find out like-minded people?
I want to say that you sound like a very unique person who is worth knowing. I hope you feel better soon, and hope that this community is helping support you!
Your wings already exist, all you need to do is fly!