3 ms·

> Try to meet people in real life See first words of my first sentence.

krageon 4y ago
If you act like that people will assume it makes sense (most can read your body language to some extent). It sounds too simple (and it's definitely harder than it sounds), but you should stop assuming those things. If you find this very hard, that is what therapy is for.
SkittyDog 4y ago
I've never once used a dating app, and I frequently meet new people, make new friends, and date new women. I'm in my early 40s. Prior to ~10 years ago, different story... I was miserable, depressed, and socially isolated. I had a series of LTRs, so I was rarely alone. But I couldn't make friends to save my life. I always felt like an outsider. I'm actually poorer than 10 years ago... Definitely in better shape, fitness wise, but also my face is 10 years older. The thing is, I devoted a lot of time, energy, and attention to becoming a better person. Therapy, 12-Step meetings, volunteering, and spending a TON of time doing physically and mentally challenging stuff outdoors... And I actually AM a better person for all of it. Not perfect, but I used to be kind of a piece of shit. At first, I was just meeting new people in my hiking & climbing circles... But after a while, with practice & effort, you develop real skills at talking to people. Nowadays, I can chat up random strangers at a grocery store, if I feel like it, and end up with at least a new FB friend, or maybe a date if we have anything in common.
- spywaregorilla 4y ago
  Why do you want a new FB friend?
  - SkittyDog 4y ago
    FB friends sometimes turn into more, over time. If not, there's no real cost to having another one... If they're noisy, it's as simple as clicking a mute button. Also, this is a PERFECT example of those social skills I talked about, in my earlier post... Valuable relationships don't just magically appear out of thin air, when you just happen to meet the right people. You have to meet (a LOT) of people, then spend time & effort to cultivate a common context, figure out their character, decide whether you want them in your life... It's a winnowing process, wherein you might only build ONE truly significant relationship out of meeting hundreds of people. The very first stage of that pipeline is just getting in contact and observing the person. Facebook is a great tool for that part. But the knowledge of this whole process isn't some kind of inbuilt human instinct. Some people are lucky enough to learn it while they're young, but the rest of us have to figure it out as adults. It's a very complex skill set, so it can be a long,frustrating, frightening learning process.
Ancalagon 4y ago
I would just point back to the part about not having inhibitions. Those thoughts should not be the first things running through your head. You might get rejected, so what? Maybe its because your thoughts were correct and its an attraction issue, but most people can work on this factor I'd say unless they're extraordinarily mentally handicapped. See a therapist if you feel it would help. I didn't mean anything personal by my statements btw. I've had my own experience and troubles dating. Hope things work out for you mate.

If you act like that people will assume it makes sense (most can read your body language to some extent). It sounds too simple (and it's definitely harder than it sounds), but you should stop assuming those things. If you find this very hard, that is what therapy is for.

SkittyDog 4y ago

I've never once used a dating app, and I frequently meet new people, make new friends, and date new women. I'm in my early 40s. Prior to ~10 years ago, different story... I was miserable, depressed, and socially isolated. I had a series of LTRs, so I was rarely alone. But I couldn't make friends to save my life. I always felt like an outsider. I'm actually poorer than 10 years ago... Definitely in better shape, fitness wise, but also my face is 10 years older. The thing is, I devoted a lot of time, energy, and attention to becoming a better person. Therapy, 12-Step meetings, volunteering, and spending a TON of time doing physically and mentally challenging stuff outdoors... And I actually AM a better person for all of it. Not perfect, but I used to be kind of a piece of shit. At first, I was just meeting new people in my hiking & climbing circles... But after a while, with practice & effort, you develop real skills at talking to people. Nowadays, I can chat up random strangers at a grocery store, if I feel like it, and end up with at least a new FB friend, or maybe a date if we have anything in common.

spywaregorilla 4y ago
Why do you want a new FB friend?
- SkittyDog 4y ago
  FB friends sometimes turn into more, over time. If not, there's no real cost to having another one... If they're noisy, it's as simple as clicking a mute button. Also, this is a PERFECT example of those social skills I talked about, in my earlier post... Valuable relationships don't just magically appear out of thin air, when you just happen to meet the right people. You have to meet (a LOT) of people, then spend time & effort to cultivate a common context, figure out their character, decide whether you want them in your life... It's a winnowing process, wherein you might only build ONE truly significant relationship out of meeting hundreds of people. The very first stage of that pipeline is just getting in contact and observing the person. Facebook is a great tool for that part. But the knowledge of this whole process isn't some kind of inbuilt human instinct. Some people are lucky enough to learn it while they're young, but the rest of us have to figure it out as adults. It's a very complex skill set, so it can be a long,frustrating, frightening learning process.

Ancalagon 4y ago

I would just point back to the part about not having inhibitions. Those thoughts should not be the first things running through your head. You might get rejected, so what? Maybe its because your thoughts were correct and its an attraction issue, but most people can work on this factor I'd say unless they're extraordinarily mentally handicapped. See a therapist if you feel it would help. I didn't mean anything personal by my statements btw. I've had my own experience and troubles dating. Hope things work out for you mate.