feeling down

[Chav_a143]

Im back at my second semester of college and am already starting to feel down. Last semester I felt the same way because its incredibly hard for me to make friends. And many people here already have friends from the last semester so it makes it even harder because it just feels cliquey. Also can I just note that im 18 and have never had a boyfriend... and its hard bc everyone around me is freaking getting engaged so I also feel down about that too. It may seem dumb but people not liking me or situations like these trigger my depression and anxiety and I don't want it to get bad again.

[Marshall64]

I don't think it is dumb if you are triggered into depression and anxiety because you perceive that people didn't like you. I had the same feeling when working with two extremely negative people who did nothing but talk about other workers all day. I knew they were talking about me too. I just had to let it go and realize that I can choose to let it bother me or not give them that power and realize that they are the ones with a problem.

As far as cliquey people, those aren't the kind of friend you want anyway. You'll find find friends. I was shy when I went to college and it took me awhile to make friends but when I did they turned out to be lifelong friends.

I didn't have a girlfriend until I was almost 20. Like I said, I was shy and nervous as hell on my first date. It got easy from that point forward.

If you read through this forum you will see other college students such as yourself going through some of the same problems. You are not alone.

Hang in there and just be yourself. In time you will meet others.

[Cfish0031]

This is an incredibly common feeling and I don't say this to downplay your anxiety, I say it to give you a sense of "I am not alone" feeling. You said that it is not necessarily easy for you to make friends, so many people go through this as well! The best thing to do is to put yourself out there, getting out of your dorm room, going to activities and just being around other people will increase your chance to find new friends. This is all incredibly normal and you are not indifferent for feeling this way. Just do what you can to put yourself in situations to meet new people.