Square peg in round hole

Hi @KeepinMyMarbles

We wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you to the forums.

Thank you for your post. It sounds quite isolating and diffcult for you at the moment, so we can see why seeking like minded people you can connect with can be so helpful.

We hope that you find the forums a great place to connect with other members, share stories and ideas, and find the support and connection you deserve.

Feel free to Introduce yourself here if you haven’t already!

We look forward to seeing you around on the forums and hearing members' insights into what you are experiencing.

@KeepinMyMarbles

I wish I had the answers too, @KeepinMyMarbles . I moved interstate 9 years ago and also tried different things (meetups, online friendship platforms, language groups) to meet people that I might click with. Most of them I did not enjoy or find people I clicked with, some I felt more "other" after because I didnt have shared interests.

I have found that shared-interest groups have a slightly better hit-rate for me in "tolerable social interactions", and occasionally within that finding a gem of a person who I can really connect with and like.

But I also have "nice but not very emotionally connected" social groups which I choose to join or not based on whether I need general-socialisation or need to also feel connected to people. These groups are good for the general socialisation, but I find for myself can make it worse if Im craving genuine connection and so I avoid if that's what I need on the day.

Do you have any hobbies/interests?

Not sure if any of the above will resonate with you, and its OK if it doesn't. Just food for thought from my own experience and self reactions to being "different".

Hi @KeepinMyMarbles, the anxiety from getting out and about, crowds, new places strangers it is crippling. The longing to find and be part of your soul tribe is hard to deny. It would be so easy if we were all psychically linked in that way and just knew to be in a certain place at a certain time, drawn there instinctually.

I know eventually that I will be around like minded people, in the meantime I continue to live my life in a way that I'm comfortable with, doing the things I like, when and where I like, in the hope and knowledge that other like minded people will be doing the same thing.

Of course those things have to have a social aspect for me to meet and interact with others, so I start with what I'm comfortable with, such as chatting on forums like this one (and others), Facebook groups etc.

I've been volunteering at a Buddhist monastery as I'm into meditation and other spiritual practises. I find the monastery and Buddhist teachings relaxing and rather profound. This has also helped with my workplace trauma induced anxiety, ptsd and depression.

If you create a life you love, doing things you enjoy, inevitably you'll find people that share similar interests.