I wanna start by saying I’m not under it these days but I’ve been in the hole. ironically it’s precisely the thing in your drawing. I have been well loved in my life, lots of friends - I’d even go so far as to say the hub. But over time, and finally me moving to a new city by myself after a divorce, I found myself utterly alone, but also invisible. I’d try so hard to reach out and make connections - and low key, I don’t think weird. But it feels to me like people don’t trust a middle aged single guy. Or it really is just me. and where I think I used to attract people to me - I’m not sure that I actively repel them - because I do have good passing interactions - I think they just don’t remember me, or yeah that a single middle aged guy just doesn’t fit in well. Like I’m invisible.
It’s been about 10 years like this now. And I’m starting to get, I don’t know used to it I guess. But it makes life feel so very long. If I’m roughly half way done, and the entire second half is gonna be like this. That feels like a long long time.
I feel this so hard. I’m in a great marriage and I have a wonderful relationship with my daughter, but I have almost no friends. I have some in passing, but no one I would feel comfortable calling if things went south. It’s an awful feeling. I reached out to a handful of people on social media to reconnect and didn’t hear back from any of them. Being a middle aged man, myself, it feels like people are very wary of someone my age having not found his “tribe” yet. Like there’s something wrong with me because I don’t have a group. It sucks.
I understand feeling a little off, a little bit outside of everything and everyone. I feel like I’ve never been anyone’s #1 choice to spend time with. Not my family, friends, husband, or kids. Never. It gets to me, even though I get it and don’t want to spend time with myself either. It’s tough. I hope you can find a good group of friends that you click with and can at least have fun experiences, even if you have periods of being alone in between.
Also, for the record, the weird dudes have no idea they’re weird. If you’re conscious about how you approach people, I’m already 100% sure you’re not the problem. As we get older, everyone’s lives are so busy and already entrenched in whatever they have going on that it’s tougher to make deep friendships. Although I do see it happen again in the retired crowd. I like to go salsa dancing sometimes (well… I did last year. I don’t find joy in anything right now tbh), and most of the others that go are in their 50s+, with a lot in their 60s and 70s. So I guess life doesn’t end at 40 after all?
Good luck, internet stranger.
I read somewhere that it takes around 150 hours of interaction to generate that bond of friendship between men.
That seems both a small number and a very daunting one given how many people live relative isolation today. Someone might say, join a club and make friends, but if that number is right that’s an hour long weekly meetup for three years.
