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I'm fine this is just a meme
ngl i kinda detest people who say it's bad to need others (especially a partner) to be happy
like no, it's bad to be unsustainably unhappy alone, but friends and partners are perfectly normal requirements for humans to be truly happy.
Echoing others, even introverts need some socializing and sense of community (even if it's just a nice one on one time with a close friend, or even sharing your thoughts online with a stranger).
Humans have a very frustrating characteristic such that the part of the brain responsible for pain also handles social rejection. It's something we evolved because humans on their own... die.
Too bad hell is other people, right?
Just go and meet people. It's not your fault humans weren't built for isolation.
Even ignoring my intense social anxiety, where and how do I even meet people who arent gonna be awful? I cant figure it out
There might well simply not be a specific place where you'll magically find friends.
In that case or if all this just seems exhausting and intimidating, i'd recommend just going anywhere there's other people and not being afraid to greet them and exchange some words with them.
Think of it like microdosing social interaction, i've found it to be very doable and it both helps you get used to interacting with people and feel less lonely.
I think you're approaching with the wrong assumptions: first that there is a place that one can just go to where there's people you'll like, and second that meeting people you don't like must be avoided. If people turn out to be awful for you, don't meet them again, you can't always know beforehand.
As others have implied, going somewhere where people with similar interests go can be a good start.
You'd be surprised how many people want to have a 30-40 second conversation with a stranger (it happens to me constantly). You don't have to go into an interaction expecting to become life long friends, quick conversations are a good step one.
I figured this out recently! Visit all of the Board Games shops and card game shops in your town and find a group that meets publicly and plays board games.
If you don't like Board Games, go do an outdoor hobby like disc golf and join other groups.
The board game meet ups have been fantastic because you can just focus on the board game and you don't have to get a bunch of anxiety trying to come up with small talk. It can just happen organically overtime at your comfort level.
Birdwatching.
There is always the risk of awful people, but doing something with people who have shared interests is a great start.
For me political and school related organizations were great but any form of social work helps. You don't have to go to a bar or a club, you can tend to a community garden or volunteer at a canteen. The first start to meeting people is finding an environment you feel comfortable ti meet them in imo
i know they tell you this but it's ok to want to be with other people. humans are social creatures after all :P
Bruh, the only time I'm happy is when I'm alone. Unfortunately I'm required to work and interact with other human beings and they are all terrible, every one.
Just saving up for my homestead so I can quit my job and live completely isolated from the rest of human society.
I have a cult where we all pretend to be like Shrek in the opening of the hit film Shrek (2001) and are happy and content with our bodies and complete social disconnection and the propaganda decrying us as monsters. I am currently the only member though (I do not leave my swamp (I am happy here (totally content and happy)))
I feel ya.
You might not need to hear this, but somebody else might.
“Being happy alone” doesn’t mean that being isolated is supposed to be a healthy or pleasant experience. We’re social creatures by nature, but you also can’t fixate on romantic relationships as the only way to “complete” yourself.
It’s harder and harder with the death of third spaces, but really, find something you enjoy in the real world and find your local community based around that thing. Make friends. Make enemies! Talk to people. Certainly understand your limits - about four hours into talking to new people, I will pretty much always need to crash afterwards, less if someone’s abrasive in some way. It still helps infinitely more than staying isolated in a funk.