Your very first step should be therapy/medication. We’re all just randos on the internet and won’t be able to give the same personalized treatment as someone who spent the better part of a decade studying this stuff.
Healthy habits will also help. Just 2 hours of walking total in a week makes a huge difference. You can carve out 20 minutes a day and take one day off a week, or do it all in one go on a nature hike. Cut out alcohol entirely if possible, it’s literally poison and exacerbates mental health issues. Sleep at least 6 hours, cut down on processed junk.
Beyond that I recommend finding local social spaces, like a board game shop, and going there when you feel ready. You could reach out to the owners and see if any special accommodations can be made. The hardest part will be walking in the door - the trick I use is to tell myself I’ll just stick around for 1 hour (30 minutes, 5 minutes, whatever you are able) and then leave if I’m having a bad time.
Aside from that, focus on making friends first and often a relationship will organically grow from there. I won’t pretend that it’s easy, but it’s absolutely possible. You are deserving of love and acceptance just as much as anybody else.
Therapy is extremely expensive, medication is also extremely expensive but worse it screws me up big time because of my GAD/Anxiety and causes me chest pain and cramps (I’d wager the chest pain is related to me having what sounds like angina since I was 7, but iunno, my doctor didn’t find out why)
Social spaces also don’t really exist here, I live in a sort of suburb/commute town so there’s mostly just grocery/department stores and fast food, and I don’t have a car (very expensive) so I can’t get around, there being no sidewalks or public transportation or anything.
Also have extremely bad insomnia, sleep is never guaranteed and I usually wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep…
Idk feels like it’s near impossible to make new friends in the first place, not even considering romantic relationships. My only real friends are some of my best friend’s friends (all of who live in different states tho so can’t really do anything with but game) and very few people I’ve met online (they all live in Italy and Texas and stuff, not near me)
Some of these are less so problems with me though and moreso a result of me being broke (even online college is expensive, it’s hard to have excess money)
Speaking of health though, I’ve tried doing basic exercise a lot over the years but my Dyspraxic ass can’t do a push-up without someone placing my limbs in the exact spot they’re supposed to go and showing me how to do it every inch of the way. I do not know anyone to nor have the money for anyone to show me how… the internet also didn’t help me unfortunately.
Your very first step should be therapy/medication. We’re all just randos on the internet and won’t be able to give the same personalized treatment as someone who spent the better part of a decade studying this stuff.
Healthy habits will also help. Just 2 hours of walking total in a week makes a huge difference. You can carve out 20 minutes a day and take one day off a week, or do it all in one go on a nature hike. Cut out alcohol entirely if possible, it’s literally poison and exacerbates mental health issues. Sleep at least 6 hours, cut down on processed junk.
Beyond that I recommend finding local social spaces, like a board game shop, and going there when you feel ready. You could reach out to the owners and see if any special accommodations can be made. The hardest part will be walking in the door - the trick I use is to tell myself I’ll just stick around for 1 hour (30 minutes, 5 minutes, whatever you are able) and then leave if I’m having a bad time.
Aside from that, focus on making friends first and often a relationship will organically grow from there. I won’t pretend that it’s easy, but it’s absolutely possible. You are deserving of love and acceptance just as much as anybody else.
Oops I mean your friend lol.
Therapy is extremely expensive, medication is also extremely expensive but worse it screws me up big time because of my GAD/Anxiety and causes me chest pain and cramps (I’d wager the chest pain is related to me having what sounds like angina since I was 7, but iunno, my doctor didn’t find out why)
Social spaces also don’t really exist here, I live in a sort of suburb/commute town so there’s mostly just grocery/department stores and fast food, and I don’t have a car (very expensive) so I can’t get around, there being no sidewalks or public transportation or anything.
Also have extremely bad insomnia, sleep is never guaranteed and I usually wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep…
Idk feels like it’s near impossible to make new friends in the first place, not even considering romantic relationships. My only real friends are some of my best friend’s friends (all of who live in different states tho so can’t really do anything with but game) and very few people I’ve met online (they all live in Italy and Texas and stuff, not near me)
Some of these are less so problems with me though and moreso a result of me being broke (even online college is expensive, it’s hard to have excess money)
Speaking of health though, I’ve tried doing basic exercise a lot over the years but my Dyspraxic ass can’t do a push-up without someone placing my limbs in the exact spot they’re supposed to go and showing me how to do it every inch of the way. I do not know anyone to nor have the money for anyone to show me how… the internet also didn’t help me unfortunately.
Thanks though!