Making friends is an essential part of anyone’s life … we are social beings and we need to feel part of a community. Although this may be a bit more complicated for people who have social anxiety disorder, or simply for people who are shy. It can be easier to avoid making friends and spending time alone than to have to spend time and energy in situations that may seem tense and uncomfortable at first.

Actually having friends is good in all aspects, starting with the fact that those who have close friends live longer and have better health. In addition, people who have close friends can better cope with adversity in life. Although people with social anxiety disorder may want to make friends but do not know how to do it, something that will be frustrating and cause low self-esteem. Below you will be able to find some tips to increase your social circle and make new and good friends. You can not lose this!

How to make new friends

Take time to work on yourself

Before you start wanting to make friends without rhyme or reason, it is better that you take the time to work on yourself and get to know yourself more and better. The more balanced you are, the easier it will be to talk to others. It is important that you review some keys:

• • Emotional health

• • Have interests

• • Do things that make you feel comfortable with yourself

• Discover what you are passionate about to find people like that

Find potential friends

The second step is to find potential friends, that is, this is the most important step. When looking for potential friends, the best places to start are also the easiest.  Do you work with other people? Do you know someone who has a great circle of friends? Could you join a group or organization to increase the number of people you are in contact with?

It is important that at first you are not too demanding. Anyone can be a friend at first. First impressions are not necessarily the best indicators of who could become a friend in the long run. Consider inviting a co- worker to lunch, joining a book club at the library, or volunteering at a local nonprofit to meet new people and potential friends.

Have the contact information of potential friends

You will need to make sure you have contact information for the people you know. Be it the phone or the link to social networks , you will have to find a way to be able to communicate with them at another time.

In this way you will have a guaranteed path to be able to start a conversation even if it is not in person until the next physical meeting.

Make plans

Perhaps the most critical step for you if you have social anxiety is accepting invitations and making plans with other people. You should do your best and not turn down invitations. If you reject people too often, they will stop telling you to do things with them.

In the same way, you shouldn’t always expect the other person to make plans. Although making plans can be a challenging task for people with this disorder, it is important to show others that you are also interested in them and that you want to meet and spend time with them.

Keep in touch

Once you’ve started the steps to making and forming new friends, you need to keep in touch. Over time, you will learn how often certain people keep in touch with you and who were only in your life in the past. Make sure you do your part to reach out to your new friends and make plans. With the ease of communication on the internet, there is no reason why you cannot keep in touch with those you know.

Remember

There are a few points to keep in mind:

• • Don’t expect instant results, building friendships takes time, effort, and sacrifice. It is a relationship like any other.

• • Make making new friends a priority, but understand that the race to the finish is a marathon, not a sprint.

• • Once you’ve made new friends, be careful not to take them for granted. Always make your friends a priority, even when it’s not convenient for you.

• • Good friends don’t criticize, they don’t gossip, and they don’t judge each other.

• Never compromise your beliefs, values, or morals because of a friendship .