Difficulty maintaining relationships

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Not romantic relationships, I should clarify. I'm finding social interactions really difficult and draining at the moment. I'm highly sensitive and agonise over saying the wrong thing all of the time. I've always been more introverted but it feels like it's gone beyond that.

I've made some real conscious changes recently and am managing my diet and finances a lot better. My relationship with DH and 4 y/o is great at the moment. It feels like my little home life is thriving while everything else feels challenging.

It's like I literally go blank when I need to respond to anyone. Tomorrow I'm going for lunch with a friend and his partner and I'm already writing down ideas of topics to ask about and even follow up questions.

I wondered if anyone had any theories as to why this might be happening and why I am struggling so much to overcome it?

Anyone? I've asked chatgpt which seems to have diagnosed me with social anxiety, it was very sympathetic though 😅

I can't really help OP, but I am the same. I'm fine with partner and close family and one friend but not only do I find it hard to talk to anyone else, I find I don't want to talk to anyone else. I don't enjoy it and it all seems forced. The only thing I would say is if you don't want to talk to others, then don't. I always seem to hear/read that one needs a social group, but I actively don't need it and maybe you're the same.

Do you enjoy it while you’re there? I can’t relate to the pre-fear (though I never want to go - it’s just reluctance, but enjoy it when I get there) but I get post-fear. I’m an extroverted introvert so I babble shit then agonise over everything I said after and can torture myself for weeks. My approach is to feel to fear and do it anyway…

having a great home life is an absolute massive win though and something I hope you’re thrilled about! 😊

I was wondering the same thing today myself. It seems really difficult for me to talk to people, and I feel like sometimes I am having two conversations - one to the other person, and one in my head (mostly saying ‘say something, they look bored / that was a silly thing to say’). I feel exhausted by the end of the interaction.

It feels like so much effort that I have avoided social occasions, they feel traumatic at times. Especially since I am happy with talking to my DH DCs all day.

However, I must say that avoiding being social has really impacted my children’s social lives. That is my only regret. They are all shy and don’t invite their friends over because they know what I am like (also house is never tidy).