I have long dealt with social anxiety and difficulty making friends. It took years of working through the social anxiety... lots of practice in social situations by joining groups where I had to socialize. It felt like torture sometimes but it got better with time. I joined toastmasters and also many fun, social groups. Making friends is hard and I have posted about that several times here on PC. I think recently I just got to the point that I was tired of worrying about it. I’ve had bad experiences with friendships in the past and I now can spot a potentially bad friendship a mile away. Instead of being upset by the past, I recently have learned to just use the knowledge to avoid bad future friendships. I’ve also come to expect that most friendships will be shallow. If I want to go for a walk or to the movies or for lunch... I think it’s just fine if that’s with someone who just likes doing the same things I do and we don’t have to be soul mates. I guess what it comes down to is a lot of acceptance... acceptance of myself as far as the social anxiety goes and acceptance of others as far as the limitations of most friendships. It’s not easy. I’ve struggled with this a lot so I understand your loneliness. It can and does get better... I needed lots of new experiences and I gained some new perspectives as well. PC has been a good place for me to talk through a lot of this stuff. [emoji3590]