I feel like I’m at my wit’s end.
I have worked jobs where I need to socialize plenty throughout the day.
I have been in situations where I lived in the same building as other folks my age.
I try to make conversation but it always feels empty and inauthentic and I rarely can think of anything to say back that I feel I would want to say or would make sene. If I were being really true to myself I wouldn’t talk with anyone because it always feels wrong and I never truly care about what they have to say.
Having social anxiety and autism doesn’t help and are likely contributing factors, but there are also plenty of people who have these and can still have conversation and enjoy the company of others.
But no matter how many threads and articles I read about these problems I cannot make a change.
1 comment
Is this more that you struggle to keep conversations going even witb friends, or just that you can’t bring yourself to care enough about the barista at Starbucks to spend 10 minutes chatting with them after you get your coffee?
If it’s the latter, there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert. Extraverts might be more noticeable so it feels like “everyone” is good at starting random conversations.
If it’s the former: I often get told by friends that I’m good at keeping conversations going, and I think I just do it by getting in the habit of asking follow-up questions, and by just reading a lot (about history, current events, science, technology etc.) so that I have some context for conversational topics that might come up.