[jvm___]

Same. Insulting nicknames from elementary into highschool. Same 15 boys due to small classes at private Christian school.

Married the first girl who showed me positive attention. I didn't know what a friend for me was, so we're married but not friends.

The hope for you is that I found a group through a local running group. They posted on Facebook and we run weekly. They added me to the group chat last year and it's been amazing having people to chat with and go on runs with.

Going home to someone who you can't have a conversation with is hard though.

Trite advice that worked for me. Find a group of people who do the thing you like as a way to make friends. This group was started by someone just looking to not run alone in town.

I can picture in my head walking up to the running group meetup for the first time, it honestly feels like a new birth after being friendless from grade 7 til age 40+.

[ryanwaggoner]

I wasn’t bullied, but I was a homeschool kid who ended up at a private Christian school and then married the first girl who showed me any interest. We finally divorced after two decades of struggle. The entire 3-4 year period of my marriage finally collapsing under its own weight came with several beautiful bright spots: I went to therapy, I had several life-changing experiences with psychedelics, and I found a group of incredibly good friends in similar situations. It’s mindblowing the difference that a few good friends can make.

[jvm___]

1000%

Same experiences with psychedelics, haha.