Twirls, I know that feeling of reaching out for help by going somewhere you thought would help, and not feeling heard or understood or accepted. Your story also sounds just like when I tried to join my highschool classmates when they gathered at a pizza place after football games. Nobody had invited me, and I was compltetely alone in the middle of a crowd, and was overwhelmed all the more because I am not comfortable in crowds. I was desperate for someone to invite me to join them, and nobody did, and too scared to invite myself, so I left, feeling about like you did after the recovery group.

I wonder how you tried to let them know that you wanted to be invited to join in? I'm asking because I have learned that I don't send out the right signals. I cower in a corner by myself, and people think that I just want to be alone, or that I'm just tired and don't want to talk to them, or even sometimes they think that I think I'm too good to associate with them (when really I'm terrified that they don't think I'm good enough to associate with them). Just wondering if they might have misinterpreted your signals, and maybe didn't know they were excluding you.

I also want to congratulate you on your self-talk and problem-solving in your post. Yes, you can get through this, and keep yourself safe, and find something constructive to do. You can also come here and talk to us any time. I hope that you know that you are always welcome.

TC,
Rap