Hi Mumsnet,
I've done a swift name change because I'm finding this all quite upsetting.
I am a single mum to a young'un. Her dad is not around much & I'm pretty sleep deprived & have a stressy job too.
I've always had a solid group of friends-male/female/parents & non-parents. I've always felt confident within myself, weekends are busy, texts-a-chirping etc but recent weeks I've found that I'm instigating all the social stuff, I'm texting everyone every time & I get the feeling my friends just aren't being all that friendly. I'm feeling pretty down on myself & just in the last week starting to feel like others are looking at me differently/people thinking I'm a bit of a nob/I'm losing my confidence. I'm bloody busy with work & life & am convinced others are seeing that I'm often preoccupied & stressed & that I'm a bad person because of it. I try to be kind, considerate & catch up with friends as much as I can but today spent the entire day on the verge of tears feeling like nobody wanted me there when a few of us went for a picnic. I feel on edge & anxious almost all the time.
Most of my friends are in couples & I no longer am. Maybe that's part of it. Ultimately I feel like I'm falling apart & without my self confidence (which is evaporating rapidly) I'm screwed...
Anyone been through a similar thing?