Do you feel more isolated when in a crowd?

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I often feel this way, when I go out. I usually go out by myself. I don't have anyone to talk to, or any group to associate myself with. Sometimes I feel imtimidated and overwhelmed by this, but most times I watch and see and try to figure how all the others made it to a level which I have yet to experience - being part of the herd....

I think this why I prefer being on my own, on my own.

So anyone else know how this feels?

I actually find my self more isolated when I'm in a group of 6 or so and I'm the only one there who isn't talking.
In big crowds I feel like I fit in more because I don't stand out so much. Most people are in small groups or on their own anyway. Like in town, I feel I fit in a lot better.
EMZ=]

I know exactly what you mean. I go college on thursdays and I have no friends there and they're all girls in my group, and plastics too, I feel completely isolated even invisible, I just watch them feeling really envious. Or other places if friends aren't there I just feel like the only one who's not in a group and part of any team, I'm just an observer.
I often think of the world as a giant aquarium and people are the fish and I'm just watching through the glass, I know that sounds cheesy but it's true.

This whole post is exactly how I feel. Exactly. I feel so envious of social people around me. I just don't understand how it comes so naturally to some, while being impossible for me.

I don't feel isolated when I'm by myself at all, I like being by myself, it feels safe and comfortable. Small groups are the worst because then people look at you and wonder why you're not talking, with a crowd, no one will fixate on you. They don't particularily make me uncomfortable.

Yes.

One on one is much easier.

Yes because it makes me more aware of my social ineptness. I do not interact with other people as spontaneously as others do unless I see that they are interested in something I am (which is rare). I believe that it is hard enough trying to decipher one person's non-verbal speech, let alone an entire room full of people. Too much noise and too many distractions. It also exaserbates my auditory processing problems.

I understand. I am loneliest in big crowds, too. I would rather stay silent than say something that will be misunderstood.

So many times I have tried to connect with others, only to have it backfire on me. I almost always regret making the effort in some way. How can it be so effortless for most people?

I can relate to that. It backfires for me almost 100% of the time. I actually have to self-regulate my speech around other people and try to use common word and nothing that can be misunderstood by the person. I tend to use a lot of "big" words. I will genuinely try to show compassion and sympathy towards other people only to have one of the other people in the group blunty tell me to "back off". They assume that I'm being insensitive when I'm not. My social functioning from 1-10 is probably a 3 or 4.

For an average size bunch of people at the mall, I am ok. But if a mall gets crowded and noisy---I often have to leave. Now, as far as being part of a group of people socializing---I am very awkward. I often compare it to feeling like I am one side of a window looking into the group of people. The window makes it hard for me to communicate.

I seem to have the most trouble when all the other people around me seem energized and in high spirits and I'm just not feeling it. I can be with a group and everyone else is joking around and I either can't comprehend what they're joking about or I'm unable to find it funny. I also get tense when there's a lot of commotion and distraction around me and the tension makes me unable to think.

Also I never get to see how other people initiate a conversation with someone they meet for the first time. If I don't know much about anyone else I'm going to run out of things to say very quickly. It always seems like everyone else already knows each other. I don't see how I'm supposed to learn something I never observe.

It's actually almost circular. I don't have much in common to talk about with the rest of the group because I don't get a chance to really get to know anyone, yet I'm unable to find anything out because I don't have enough in common to know where to start. After being on the outside for a certain amount of time it begins to feel like I've "missed my chance" and it's going to be an even greater uphill battle.

what i really hate is when you are at a table discussing something and everyone has to cut in and out of the conversation. i have something really good to say but i have an issue knowing when to cut in.

I used to spend a lot of time envying those who are content without worrying about anything. My big thing was constant obsessing and worrying about all sorts of things, especially social things.
I often wondered to myself how people could go out, be at ease, and behave so spontaneously toward one another. I knew someone who could hug anyone and that was something I could never do. She even hugged me which was surprising because I am not what one would call "huggable". Have to admit I admire someone who can give me a hug without hesitation, especially if it's someone I don't mind being hugged by even though I feel sorta weird about being hugged in public like that by someone I only see while visiting a specific locale.
When I went out this is what I spent a lot of time thinking about: how others remain carefree.
Nowadays I don't feel intimidated about going out alone, unless I get stopped for a traffic violation, which is rare. I got stopped for not wearing my seatbelt and I thought that was a bit petty but, oh well. It was a small thing, but it rattled me a bit because I think about everyone else who does worse than that, like driving 65 mph on a street that has a 45 mph limit, it happens all the time on a nearby busy street yet it seems like it's tolerated.
So, besides that, I don't feel intimidated. One thing I never do is eat in a restaraunt alone. I cannot handle the thought of being surrounded by parties of more than one eating whilst me and maybe two other individuals there are eating by ourselves. I would rather take it home and eat instead.
So, most of the time, being alone isn't that big a deal.

A lot, especially if I'm in a group and I'm the only one not talking.

YES. I've never been afraid of crowds, but I still don't enjoy them because I feel like it's "me and them." I feel very alone, like I'm closed off by this wall of people.

Definitely. I don't really have any friends at college (because I'm just that much of a loser ) and when there's a large group of people around I feel like I'm the only one by myself and it increases my constant sense of loneliness.

YES!! To walk the main shopping street in my big city can make me feel incredible lonely. Because it expose so clear my own lonely situation when I see people talking and chatting and busy with their social life. I can feel incredible sad of this when Im in a vurneable mood.
But if Im in a good and relaxing mood its diffrent. Then I dont mind at all to walk around shopping in the middle of the crowd and can feel it really relaxing - as long as nobody spontaniously interfere in my excistence. That can emediately make me vurneable again....