Peer support, not treatment. Everything here comes from people describing what they personally lived through. Nobody is a verified therapist, doctor or mental-health professional. If you need clinical care, please also speak to a professional — see safety resources.
What I went through
Eighteen months in a new city where the only voice I heard on weekends was my own.
My lowest point
Realising I'd gone a full weekend without speaking out loud.
What helped
Weekly repetition, being the one who organises, and tolerating shallow for months.
What changed
Six people I'd call now. It took about fourteen months to get the first two.
Where I am now
Settled, with a Sunday football thing I'd genuinely miss.
My message to anyone in it right now
You are not bad at friendship, you're short on repeated exposure. Fix the frequency and the rest follows.