How do you cope with feeling like a background character?

[disneyfan18]

Lately, whenever I am around my friends or my roommates I have been feeling like a background character. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm invisible and that I was only invited as a last minute thing. My anxiety and paranoia is telling me that my friends and roommates don't actually like me. I love my friends and my roommates dearly and I know they feel the same way, I just don't know why I've been feeling this way lately (it just started about a month ago). Do you ever feel like the background character? How do you cope when you feel this way?

[Hidden]

Well, you probably have more friends than me!!! There are times I'm like that too, I can be very quiet and I'm more introverted, I do better having one to one conversations with people than trying to be part of a group where I feel like people compete for attention sometimes. It's not that I don't like to socialize at all but I try to think before I speak and not just blurt out something stupid or offensive. Sometimes I feel like people like me better when I'm just quiet and listening to them, like they want me to be the background character. I feel like this a lot when I'm with my family sadly.

[disneyfan18 in reply to Hidden]

Unfortunately, I feel this way around some of my family members too so I 100% stand with you. I'm also the same when it comes to having one on one conversations compared to group conversations; I have found that many times I get talked over when in groups which is frustrating. I hope that eventually you and I will overcome this and not feel this way anymore! Best of luck to you.

[Hidden]

Thank you for sharing. I never thought about it in these terms before but have felt secondary to friends and others. I think my friends and I just take turns. I let them be the protagonist and they let me be when I speak up (which I don't do a lot). I like that you are aware of your thinking (you called it paranoia) and I hope you get it figured out. I think if you apply yourself or are able to relax somehow it will work itself out.

That may be difficult depending on your current situation but I have hope that you will find your inner peace and it won't matter. That is my opinion. I am not a therapist or anything like that.

Maybe think about what you want to say to the world and tell them???

(This coming from someone who has trouble with social skills.)

Good Luck!

[disneyfan18 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much! After typing this out I feel like a majority of the way I am feeling is because of everything happening in the world right now; it's a lot.

[Hidden in reply to disneyfan18]

That makes sense. Maybe you are just processing a lot.