I’ve seen this kind of post in this community several time. All about women my age (28F) who just don’t have any friends. I’m not completely alone, but the huge group of friend I had while in high school into my early twenties has just completely faded away. We grew up and I moved away. I just feel like I grew apart from them and realized that I was different than them and hiding my true self for so long.

I recently got diagnosed with adhd and I’m doing therapy and looking back I’ve just realized I’d been masking for so long with people who were my “friends” that I had no idea who the hell I was. I felt like I had to fit in and mask myself and people please to keep the friends I had. They were shitty friends btw, pretty much most of the friends I had were crappy now that I look back at it. Now I’d been talking to my therapist about being sad that I don’t have any friends, only to realize, when actually making the effort to develop friendships that I’m actually better off without them. I have my husband, obviously. My coworkers and my parents. Then two friends who are a couple and come and hangout with us. They are pretty much all I need because trying to keep any friendships more “high maintenance” and any deeper than that I just don’t want mentally handle anymore. I did it for so long growing up. Talking and texting with people everyday. Keeping up on social media. It was exhausting! And for what? No one ever treated me the same way, like they just sucked it all out of me and never gave any of that effort back.

I guess I just needed to vent, I thought this was a social post but really it’s venting now. Taking my mask off after all these years I think just made me happier with this small circle of people I have in my life who actually care. Instead of this big group of friends who don’t.