Everybody has different phases in his or her life, and there will be happy times where everything goes as you want it to. But there will also be times in life where you feel extremely stressed or sad, or you will have to deal with a cruel stroke of fate. In these hard periods of time, it is important to find ways to cope and process. One thing that will definitely help is to talk about what you are going through right now and about your feelings with people who know you well and can be trusted. This person can be someone from your family or a close friend. But sometimes it is hard for us to open up to new people because of bad experiences we have had in the past or just because we are introverted and afraid of social interactions. Especially for children, it can be hard to make new friends because children can be mean and exclude others. The social pressure some children feel, for example, in school, can be really hard and can mess with their mental health, which might lead to an anxiety disorder at a young age. Luckily, there are some methods that will make it easier to talk to new people who may turn into friends.
First off, for many people, the thought of making friends seems hard because they do not know where they are supposed to meet new people. The best way to do this is to join a club or a team. For instance, if you like sports and physical activity, then you should join a volleyball or soccer team because you will automatically have to talk to your team members, and maybe you will develop a natural friendship over time. If you are not into sports, maybe a cooking course or a language course is the right thing for you. You can improve your personal abilities and connect with new people at the same time. Furthermore, you can look up events in your town because there will probably be a lot of open-minded people of different ages, so you can try to start a conversation with them and connect on a deeper level.
For a lot of people, the hardest part about making friends is taking the friendship from a superficial level to a deeper one. In order to establish a friendship, it is important to show initiative on your own and not wait until they make the first move. Asking them if you want to meet shows your potential friend that you are interested in them and care about your friendship. Also, telling them what is going on in your life is a good way to let them know who you are. At the same time, it is important to not only talk about yourself but also ask them about their lives too. This helps to develop a friendship where both people are on the same level and there is no one who is superior.
Also, it is important to note that you should not change your whole personality in order to get liked or be friends with some person because this relationship would not be built on trust but on twisted facts and dishonesty. Moreover, you should not rush things and expect results right away. Friendships need trust and, especially, time to get established.
Other than that, many introverts have problems opening up in the first place, even when they want to make friends. They have issues overcoming their fears of rejection and being in the spotlight. A good way to prepare for social interactions if you are an introvert is to remember that you do not have to be embarrassed or ashamed of who you are. Confidence is one of the keys that open doors to friendships. There is no one “right” way to start a conversation; you just have to trust yourself and have faith in your abilities.
To conclude, you should not pressure yourself if you do not make friends right away or if the first conversation is not as perfect as you imagined it in your head. Friendships often come when you expect them the least and in the most unpredictable ways; that is what is so beautiful about them.
https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-to-make-new-friends
https://www.oprah.com/inspiration/12-ways-to-be-more-social-starting-now
https://socialself.com/blog/how-to-be-more-social/#tips