official weirdo at work/have no friends how do you cope?

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FullMetalAspie
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09 Apr 2016, 9:55 pm

I was wondering if anyone had any advice or input on what I should do?
I have been working at this place for 2 years and I still have made no friends.
I am the official weirdo, creep, and clown of my workplace.
I don't really say anything to anyone I unless I have to I also have a lot of social anxiety casing me to act strangely.
I also cant say I have no friends because I haven't met interesting people because I have meet people who shared my interests the problem was when they tried to talk to me I couldn't reply anything more than yes, no, hi, bye.
I cant hold a conversation to hold save my life. I'm embarrassed at how I act at work. Every now and then people think I'm a new guy and try to tell me stuff about the job I already know( just give off a new guy vibe I guess) sometimes I wish they just thought I was a new guy because its embarrassing for me to tell them I have worked there 2 years because they will know I've been there for 2 years and am still a loner with no friends. My socially awkwardness I feel is less accepted once your not the new guy anymore. People are expected to grow and change becoming more confident as time passes and that's just never happened for me. My interests have changed during my life but personality and confidence wise I'm still the same nervous guy I was on my first day of high school 8 years ago nothing has changed for me. And I thought all these experiences I had like going to college for a while and now working would bring me out of my shell and make me more confident but it just hasn't. Sometimes I find it hard to go into work everyday and give my best at a job when I know I have no friends there and don't feel apart of a team.
What do you think I should do should I forget about making friends at work?
Do you think it is weird to work somewhere that long and still have no friends?



slenkar
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09 Apr 2016, 10:31 pm

You're judging yourself by mainstream standards.

It actually takes us a lot longer to develop these skills and feel comfortable after leaving education

So you WILL improve but it may take several more years,



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10 Apr 2016, 5:46 am

No, it is not weird to be lonely. Stick with the boss: Does the boss like you? If she or he does, you're doing all right.

If your co-workers ignore you, try to smile at them, and be polite: Say thank you every time they help you, and practice being friendly. You can do so at home in front of the mirror. Or "practice" talking to strangers, like asking people on the street for directions and things like that.

I like to focus on just one co-worker at a time. It's all I can manage. People with Aspergers are not really able to make friends or win any kind of popularity contest. It's a sad fact.



Maple78
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11 Apr 2016, 1:32 pm

I had this same situation in every work situation - also throughout college. Just, basically, in most areas of my life. I wish I could give advice on how to break out of it. Some ways to make people at least feel more at ease around you rather than thinking you're a default weirdo simply because you don't have the social thing down at work would be to try your best to appear relaxed/casual in conversation. My best efforts were really polite, but apparently unnaturally so for the length of time I had been there - so I wish I had been more casual, but without being disrespectful. Focusing on my skills/output since my social worth wasn't so great would have been good, too. Putting extra effort into the way I dressed (not to look uber formal or anything, but just...something, something normal/presentable, not just slacker/not-together as I sometimes looked) would have helped as well. And maybe giving the impression I am just quiet - then people would just say, "oh, she's just quiet". But....I think I would still have avoided conversation and group situations as much as I could, I don't see msyelf as overcoming the problem and making friends. It was all too overwhelming, dealing with work took my full energy, so the socializing didn't have any energy - plus I"m pretty quirky and can't usually find much common ground with others with regards to shared interests, opinions, beliefs, etc. It's only a matter of time before people see me as rather different. I think I would have always found it difficult and sad, it could cut at my self-esteem.....but at least knowing that I had done some damage control would have taken the edge off. In the end, for me, it was all just too overwhelming to do much damage control. I am now seeking work that doesn't require much teamwork or solidarity with other colleagues.



Cardia
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11 Apr 2016, 8:46 pm

FullMetalAspie wrote:
I was wondering if anyone had any advice or input on what I should do?
I have been working at this place for 2 years and I still have made no friends.
I am the official weirdo, creep, and clown of my workplace.
I don't really say anything to anyone I unless I have to I also have a lot of social anxiety casing me to act strangely.
I also cant say I have no friends because I haven't met interesting people because I have meet people who shared my interests the problem was when they tried to talk to me I couldn't reply anything more than yes, no, hi, bye.
I cant hold a conversation to hold save my life. I'm embarrassed at how I act at work. Every now and then people think I'm a new guy and try to tell me stuff about the job I already know( just give off a new guy vibe I guess) sometimes I wish they just thought I was a new guy because its embarrassing for me to tell them I have worked there 2 years because they will know I've been there for 2 years and am still a loner with no friends. My socially awkwardness I feel is less accepted once your not the new guy anymore. People are expected to grow and change becoming more confident as time passes and that's just never happened for me. My interests have changed during my life but personality and confidence wise I'm still the same nervous guy I was on my first day of high school 8 years ago nothing has changed for me. And I thought all these experiences I had like going to college for a while and now working would bring me out of my shell and make me more confident but it just hasn't. Sometimes I find it hard to go into work everyday and give my best at a job when I know I have no friends there and don't feel apart of a team.
What do you think I should do should I forget about making friends at work?
Do you think it is weird to work somewhere that long and still have no friends?


Similar situation with my part-time job. I wasn't great at small talk at all, so I almost always kept out of conversations unless it pertained to events that happened at work. I worked with some bitchy girls who would gather in a sort of cliquey sisterhood and, for the most part, I was always the odd one who didn't fit in. I got along with perhaps two people total there, but it wasn't like I went to any outings outside of work. I coped by keeping busy with my job instead of forcing myself to interact with others.
I don't work part-time anymore due to mental illness but perhaps one day I'll get a job full of fellow introverts like myself.


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12 Apr 2016, 8:45 am

I don't know what it's like in your workplace, but where I work there's a few people who've been there long-term and they're kind of loners in the sense that they don't really have anyone to eat with at lunch. Everyone's interpretation is that they're doing it by choice though, and having been part of the soul-sucking office drama I wish I'd been one of the loners instead.

Also, since I started working there, I've also realized that people are aware of the existence of shy or socially awkward people. I think as long as you're friendly or at least polite whenever you see others people will be more accepting that you can't hold a conversation.



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12 Apr 2016, 9:19 am

I don't know that work is for making friends per say, so I don't think it's that unusual if you don't have friends you met at your workplace. It sounds like more of your problem is anxiety perhaps specifically social anxiety, perhaps it would be a good idea to seek help for that...counselors can teach some coping/relaxing techniques, or there's medications for anxiety as well as herbal remedies, though depending on what type of work keep in mind some of those can impair difficult or tedious physical labor. I honestly think it sounds like if you were able to manage the anxiety better and not get the racing thoughts or over analytic thoughts of what people must dislike about you, then you'd feel better.


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FullMetalAspie
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12 Apr 2016, 4:04 pm

maybe your right but It just frustrates me because I don't know where I'm supposed to make friends if I cant make them at work because I don't go out or even have the social connections to know where to go and meet people.
I guess even if I did though it would be hard to get myself to go and put myself around strangers. I've been to therapy a bunch of times but never really stayed with it very long. I kind of hate to go back. Ill talk to my dad and see what he thinks(I'm on his insurance).



Maple78
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18 Apr 2016, 12:05 pm

FullMetalAspie wrote:
maybe your right but It just frustrates me because I don't know where I'm supposed to make friends if I cant make them at work because I don't go out or even have the social connections to know where to go and meet people.
I guess even if I did though it would be hard to get myself to go and put myself around strangers. I've been to therapy a bunch of times but never really stayed with it very long. I kind of hate to go back. Ill talk to my dad and see what he thinks(I'm on his insurance).


:-( Do you have any special interest clubs through which you could make friends? Church does this for me - sort of. It is still the rare person with whom I have a deeply personal relationship, but I can pleasantly hold a conversation with lots of folks there as we share something important for us all. On the other hand, when I tried out a hiking group, it didn't work, because the shared interest wasn't that strong. I tend to think if I had joined some kind of environmental group instead, then the interests would have run deeper, and there would have been a stronger chance of making friends. But maybe there is something you have a very strong interest in where you could share that culture with a group of other people. TOTALLY random example, but I read about this sub-culture where girls (and some guys) like to dress like dolls - it was called "lolita" fashion, and it was from Japan. Okay, that is a very, very different and unique interest! But because they all shared this special interest it was a foundation for a whole sub-culture, and it's nice that they are able to have friends within that.

Well, I hope that wasn't too off-topic, since you were thinking about the workplace. But I will also tell you this, I learned it from experience. I have noticed that when people become friends at work, things can get socially messy very quickly - they find out your personal life, and sometimes the people you trusted really can't be trusted so much, the gossip about you and stab you in the back, at the very least, your personal life gets broadcast much more than you would know/like. So I would be happy with keeping my co-workers out of my life....the trick is how to do it without seeming like a pariah at work.



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19 Apr 2016, 2:31 am

I envy you! I mean it; don't think I'm taking the piss. But if you've been at that job for 2 years and haven't been fired, it obviously means you are well-liked. It's okay that you don't speak much. You know what? I like being around people who don't talk much in offices etc. It means the place is more peaceful. I hate the drama queens and the big egomaniacs who like to get up in people's faces and act like they're the boss. You're probably a breath of fresh air in there. Never try to change yourself; you're awesome, that's why you still have a job after 2 years!

I agree with Sweetleaf that you could try talking to someone. Sometimes just having someone to unload your worries really helps. Definitely ask your old man about the insurance. This is, after all, an important issue as much as physical health. Don't let it ruin your fulfilment of your job. Friends will come - you don't need many; in fact, even if you make one good friend in the whole time you are there, you will be doing splendidly. That's just my opinion. :-)


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