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Tips on getting out more and making new friends!

W

Waussie

New Member
Hiya! You probably saw my post elsewhere, OR NOT. Doesn't matter too much as I'm going to go over things again! :laughing:
So, I found myself more recently wanting to go out and make friends. Naturally, I've always preferred to be alone and have alone time but nowadays I'm really wanting to make new friendships and what not! I didn't really stay in contact with any friends from high school or anything like that. No need to get into circumstances!
I'm mainly just looking for tips and advice for how I should go about this. I'm not really looking to make friends online to clarify!
So far, I've looked at volunteering and meetup groups.. I will add, I do have social anxiety but I'm working on it and a part of that is getting out and just doing stuff. I worry about things waayyy before they are even happening and I'm finding it best to just throw myself into a situation as the social part of my head starts to tick when I do stuff like that. It's just worrying before that is getting me!
Any and all tips would be appreciated, even if they seem a tad bit obvious I'll appreciate it nonetheless! :)
 
I'm trying to become more desensitised to being around people, to get used to being around people again. Since covid lockdowns I got out of the habit and now I have very low tolerance for noise and feel nervous about meeting people. I'm working at changing that but I'm going slowly, I went too quick a few months back and ended up feeling a little burnt by my efforts. That meant another month of staying home feeling sorry for myself.

Like you I looked at volunteering but haven't found anything suitable. I found a Meetup group for autistic adults though and they meet every fortnight. So I've started going to that, I missed the last meet though.

Also when I go I stop in a pub that does really nice meals and I have a beer and a good feed on my way there. This is just to get me used to the noise of being around people again. Even though it's a very quiet pub that I go to it's still a lot more than I'm used to.
 
Just isn't going to happen in my lifetime, l have been disappointed in my interactions and people seem to be rather dishonest where l live. But perhaps you live in a better place.
 
french foreign.jpg


I always though joining the French Foreign Legion was a good way to make interesting new friends.

;)
 
My breakthrough came when I was involved with activity and interest groups, Sierra Club outings and the Michigan Minerological Society. Little did I know that as I was hoping to meet a woman who enjoyed outdoor activities, I would meet and fall in love with a woman hoping to meet a man for the same reason.

Now I am involved with local bike clubs and a paddle club (canoe, kayak). This morning explored a lake and marshes with people from the bike club.

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I would definitely recommend volunteering. You are on the right track with considering to do that because you can meet all kinds of people at a volunteering job. I’ve had great experiences with volunteering, so I think you should try and see how that goes. I always tell people to take things one step at a time.
 
DaisyRose said:
I would definitely recommend volunteering. You are on the right track with considering to do that because you can meet all kinds of people at a volunteering job. I’ve had great experiences with volunteering, so I think you should try and see how that goes. I always tell people to take things one step at a time.
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When we moved here after building our house 12 years ago, I helped out with elections. That got me to meet my neighbors. Now I am our townships election chair and a member of our planning commission. I enjoy being useful. Plus, no republican in my township has the temerity to suggest anything untoward with our voting. There was a MAGA voter with vision issues and the republican rep and I talked him through the ballot and marked everything properly. I refuse to disenfranchise anybody.
 
www.meetup.com and consider a meetup based on a common interest.

Have a backup plan to leave if it gets too overwhelming.
Can you drive and just leave whenever?
Can you take a Lyft back home if it's boring or too overwhelming?
Is public transportation an option?
 
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