Isolating, depression, and a lost connection?

do you have a hobby?

I garden when I feel sad.

making things live helps ease the lonesomeness...

welcome to a2k.

This forum is a good place to start. Many of us have been chatting together on this forum for more than 10 years and have had gatherings around the world to meet up with each other in person.

Welcome to A2K, Amber. There are a lot of subjects under discussion here most days. Find one that interests you and join in if you wish to do so.

If you need help finding your way around, here's a slightly out of date tutorial that will give you a head start:

How to Set Preferences, Navigate, Format Posts, Sort Topics on A2K

Hope to see you around so I can get to know you a bit better.

Finding a job, any job would be best. If that is not possible, I suggest you start doing volunteer work. Even if you don't find a new best friend you will be interacting with people and feel useful. The worst thing you can do is stay at home by yourself. Call schools, hospitals, libraries, soup kitchens, senior centers etc and see if they would like some help - I think you will get a lot of positive responses.

Hi, Amber, welcome to a2k.

I think I saw on another thread where you are going into basic training in July. It tends to be hard to get a job for a limited time, though I suppose that depends on the firm. So it does seem like volunteer work could be a good idea.

Hi Amber,

What GW said is really the best advice, outside of looking for professional help for some of your personal/family issues.

Work, even if voluntary, will give you a sense of self-worth. Sure, you may not get that friend you desire, right off, but this isn't Hollywood: there is no instant fix. The reality is, relationships that are steady and strong often are forged over time.

But self-worth is very important and it's something you can start to change tomorrow. And who said you need a friend to talk to? Sometimes an acquaintance or even a stranger can be that little blessing of warmth in an otherwise gloomy world.

And if you are going into basic training, you can forget about ever being happy again! (ok, just kidding!!! )

On top of that, I think you'll find many people on these forums who are genuine, warm, caring, and very wise. The beauty of social outlets like this are the diversity and depth of those who participate. You will be hard pressed to experience something that someone here hasn't already been through and overcome.