When You Irrationally Believe It's Too Late For You To Make Friends

Even If A Situation Is Only Slightly Unpleasant That Can Still Be Enough To Make You Avoid It

You're Not Automatically A Bad Person If You Don't Like Or Care About Most People

Feeling Nostalgic For A Time When You Cared Less About Your Social Success

Accepting People Can Change Their Mind About Their Social Decisions

Social Skills And Emotional Intelligence Matter, But Being Told That Can Be Hurtful

When Apathy And Indifference Hinder Your Ability To Make Friends

When Trying To Make Friends Starts To Feel Like A Chore

Having Naive, Overeager, Excitable Energy Around People

Leftover High School Mentalities That Can Hinder Your Social Life And Confidence As An Adult

Thoughts On Being Picky When Making Friends

Fears Of Acting Rude As You Get More Socially Confident

Feeling Like You Have A Fundamentally Unappealing Personality

It's Okay To Skip Some Chances To Work On Your Social Skills

Some People Just Get Unlucky At Meeting Friends

Faux-Nausea From Anxiety Vs. True Nausea

When You Have Several Rare Traits And It's Harder To Find Compatible Friends

Unrealistic Expectations For How Other People Should Help You With Your Social Issues

How To Make Friends When You Don't Like People

Also revised a related older article:

When You Feel Like You Just Don't Like People

Thoughts On Seeing Social Relationships As Transactional

Things Psychotherapy Clients Can Want That Won't Help Them Long Term

When You Feel Like A Mental Health Treatment Or Therapist Is Your Last Hope

Insecurities About Meeting New Friends In Dorky, Embarrassing Places

When You Don't Know Where You Stand With Someone, Focus On What Concrete Action You Need From Them

Ways To Ask For Emotional Support From People Without Draining Them In The Long Run

Ways To Cope With Loneliness In The Moment

Ways To Feel More Connected To So-So Friends And Acquaintances

Ways To Transition From Group To One-On-One Hangouts With A New Friend

When You Feel Like Your Boring Past Hinders Your Conversations

"I've Been Working On My Social Issues For Several Years And Things Still Haven't Changed"

When You Feel Like Giving Up On Trying To Make Friends Or Get Over Your Shyness

When You Feel Really Lonely And Disconnected When You Don't Have Plans For A Few Days, Even Though Your Social Life Is Decent Overall

Mildly "Selfish" Things That Are Okay To Do In Conversations

How To Get Past A Reputation For Being Weird Or Awkward

It's Not Weird If You Have To Get Momentum Going In Some Of Your Conversations Every Time

Thoughts On Self-Deprecating Humor

Don't Let Shame About Spending "Too Much" Time Working On Your Mental Health Or Social Issues Hold You Back From Healing

Good, Possible, And Iffy Reasons To Quit Seeing Your Psychotherapist

Factors In Whether It's Worth It To Hang Out With So-So Friends When You're Lonely

The Misapplied Versions Of Some Valuable Conversation Skills

Social Powers You Can Gain From Having A Difficult Childhood

Ways To Respond To Getting-To-Know-You Questions You Can't Give A Direct Answer To

How To Deal With Someone Who's Bragging

Factors That Can Affect How Long Psychotherapy Takes

Sometimes Therapy Just Takes A While, Even If You're Doing Everything Right

How To Stay Motivated To Improve Your Social Skills And Make Friends

When You Feel Deeply Stuck And Caught Between Several Difficult Options For Changing An Aspect Of Your Social Life

Ways To Manage When You Have To Face A Scary Situation And Can't Use Gradual Exposure To Get Used To It First

Feeling Impatient About Wanting To Improve Your Social Life

When It's Okay Or Not To Say "The Same Thing Happened To Me" In Conversations

Forcing Yourself To Make Progress On Your Outer Goals Vs. Working On The Core Baggage Holding You Back

Pros And Cons Of Toastmasters

Last Resort Ways To Keep A Conversation Going When You Must Talk To Someone

Wanting To Constantly Get A "Fresh Start" In Your Social Life

Countering And Suppressing Mental Health Symptoms Vs. Truly Fixing The Root Of The Problem

Why Some People Regret Trying To Improve Their Social Skills

The Range Of Results You May Get From Techniques And Lifestyle Changes Meant To Directly Reduce Your Upsetting Emotions

General Social Awkwardness And Trouble With Dating Don't Always Go Together

The Range Of Results You May Get From Accepting And Rolling With Distressing Thoughts And Emotions

The Range Of Results You Can Get From Improving Your Social Skills To Lower Social Anxiety

How Consuming Media Can Help And Hinder You Socially

Can You Get Traumatized From Panic Attacks And Intense Anxiety?

The Range Of Results You May Get From Challenging Your Counterproductive Thoughts And Beliefs

The Range Of Results You May Get From Gradually Facing Your Fears With Exposure Therapy

Ways To Uncover The Unconscious Motivations That Are Holding You Back

When You Feel Hopeless About Improving Your Social Life

Is It Pointless And Inefficient To Explore Your Past In Therapy?

Why You Should Process The Upsetting Memories That Fuel Your Social Anxiety And Insecurities

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Isn't The Be-All And End-All Of Treating Anxiety

Getting Into General Self-Improvement Usually Won't Heal Your Core Emotional Baggage

Types Of Inappropriate Conversation Topics

Not All Conversations Are Like Talking To Guarded, Fickle Women In Nightclubs

When Getting Over Your Social Awkwardness Or Mental Health Struggles Becomes Your Quasi-Hobby

Thoughts On The Social Advice To "Give Value", "Don't Take Value", Etc.

You Don't Need To Be The Leader Of Your Friend Group To Have A Fulfilling Social Life

It's Not Unusual To Dislike Weekends When You're Lonely Or Have Mental Health Struggles

The Misconception That A High-End Social Life Means Going To Lots Of Exclusive Clubs And Parties

It's Not Automatically Your Fault If A Social Interaction Goes Poorly

Traits That Don't Automatically Make You Boring

Catching Up On Your Basic Social Skills Doesn't Always Feel Like An Exciting Goal

Do Therapists Psychoanalyze People In Everyday Life?

Thoughts On Self-Medicating Anxiety

Social Challenges Of Being Good Looking While You're Also Shy And Socially Awkward

How Good Looking People Can End Up Shy And Socially Awkward

Ways To Playfully Tease People

Ways To Playfully Respond To Teasing, Bantering Remarks

Ways To Handle Ambiguous Rude Little Jokes And Comments

Ways To Figure Out If Someone's Jokes Are Mean Or Good-Natured

The Role Of Being In A Favorable Context In Feeling Outgoing And Confident

How Not To Put Your Foot In Your Mouth

What Are You Supposed To Do When People Sing Happy Birthday To You?

Is It Fake To Act Differently Around Different People?

Visualization Techniques To Calm Anxiety

Handling Feelings Of Frustration And Discouragement As You're Trying To Improve Your Social Skills

Learning To Simply Tolerate Your Anxiety

A Way To Handle Uncomfortable Cringey Memories Of Your Social Mistakes

Talking Too Much And Too Quickly When You're Nervous

General Reasons People May Not Give Some Mental Health Or Self-Help Advice A Chance

You Don't Need To Obsess Over Your Social Status If You Just Want A Regular, Fulfilling Social Life

Giving Up And Checking Out Of Social Interactions

How Sensory Processing Differences Can Affect Adults Socially

When You Purposely Sabotage Your Social Interactions

An Acknowledgement That Loneliness, Social Anxiety, And Other Social Problems Can Be Really Hard

Could Therapy For Your Anxiety Make It Worse?

Telling People You're Socially Lonely

When You Can't Keep Up In A Joking Group Conversation

Why An Annoying Person May Be Included In A Group, While You're Not

Fears Of Socializing With People Who May Not Like You

Misconceptions And Objections About Cognitive Restructuring In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Some Ways The Modern World May Enable Social Anxiety And Awkwardness

It's Common To Not Be Able To Recall Details Of Your Life Or Recent Activities Right Away

Don't Be Hard On Yourself If Your Social Skills Progress Is Slow And Inconsistent At Times

When You Often Zone Out Or Space Out During Conversations

Your Social Anxiety And Awkwardness Are Not Your Fault

Remembering People's Names

When Anxiety Makes You Lose Your Appetite

Worries About Stumbling Over Your Words Or Being Inarticulate

Exposure Therapy Mistakes

Ways To Get Some Quick Social Contact When You're Feeling Really Lonely And Isolated

Signs You Need To Do More To Treat Your Anxiety Even Though You're "Functioning"

Don't Boast About Learning Manipulative Social Techniques

Types Of Meetup.com Events, Based On Their Social Dynamics

Does Meetup.com Work For Making Friends?

How To Find a Therapist To Help Your Teenager With Their Social Skills Or Social Anxiety

Try Not To Bring An 'Adult Dating' Mentality To Making Friends When You're Older

How To Get Feedback On Your Social Skills And How You Come Across

When People Don't Ask About You In Conversations

Ground-Level Social Skill: Don't Have Poor Hygiene Or Do Gross Things

How To Handle Making A Social Mistake

Trying To Avoid Feelings Of Discouragement And Disappointment Can Hinder Your Social Development

Behaviors That Are Non-Sexually Creepy

Traits Of Immature People

Social Mistake: Unintentionally Insulting People

Don't Casually Dismiss Feedback On Your Social Skills

Some Unhealthy Friend Group Roles

It's Not Automatically Rude To Talk About Yourself

"Knowledge Check" Social And Fashion Guidelines

When You're Better At Group Conversations Than Talking One-On-One

The Idea That Basic Social Skills Are Just "Common Sense"

Thoughts On "Be Yourself" As Social Advice

Why Friends May Hardly Ever Initiate Contact To Chat

The Importance Of Little Common, Standardized Social Exchanges

When You Have No Interests Or Hobbies

Social Anxiety Safety Behaviors

Why Can Your Confidence And Social Skills Fluctuate So Much?

Does 'Fake It 'Til You Make It' Work For Improving Your Social Skills And Confidence?

How To Make Friends When You're Still Shy

"Benefits" Of Being Really Shy And Awkward (And Why Your Results May Temporarily Dip As You Improve Your Confidence And Social Skills)

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies In Social Situations

Social Thoughts That Are Common, But Which People Can Worry Are Abnormal

Some Social Problems That Mainly Affect People When They're Younger

Here's a link to it on Amazon

Stereotypical Dorkiness Vs. True Social Awkwardness

What Do People Actually Do At Parties?

Don't Be A Low-Level Jerk

When You Lose Interest In People Quickly

When People Aren't Interested In Talking About Your Hobbies

How Much Do You Really Need To Improve Your Fashion Sense To Be Socially Successful?

The old article made a quick case for why working on your looks can benefit your social life, then gave some quick general tips on ways to improve your appearance. The new version is more about the question of how important adjusting your look actually is.

How To Let Someone Know You're Not Interested In Starting A Friendship With Them

Why Potential New Friends May Not Follow Through After Talking About Hanging Out

How Not To Get Talked Over Or Ignored In Group Conversations

Why People Can Give Vague, Unhelpful Social Advice

How To Have The College Experience If You Missed Out On It