I’m a 19 y/o guy with aspergers, and my entire life I’ve struggled with forming connections with people. I had small friend groups when I was younger and that was perfect for me, but when I was 13 I shut down from a combination of other severe mental health issues and my autism, and since then I haven’t had friends.
More recently I’ve been able to improve on my social anxiety a lot, and I have an easier time talking with people. But even now that I can easily be friendly and talk to people, I really struggle to hold conversations and I seem to be missing whatever it is that you need to connect with another person.
I’m not sure if this is even something solvable for me being that I have aspergers, but I’m deeply, deeply lonely and want to do whatever I can to try and improve my situation. I’d like to hear from any normal people what it is that makes you feel a connection with another person so that I may understand better. Thank you for any help.