Hello ajds...: Well... I don't know as I can really answer your question. I'm an older person. And I live a pretty-much solitary lifestyle by choice. Perhaps the answer to this is to work on your tendency to become severely depressed when you're rejected. (Perhaps this is not the time to be drifting away from your therapist?) Beyond that, my personal opinion would be that the only way to make friends is to get out there & be around people... preferably people with whom you share some common interests. And as far as getting by without a strong social support network goes, my personal non-professional perspective would be that this is really something that is a matter of personality. Some people (like me) just don't really want or need much in the way of social support. Others do. I doubt that's something one can really change consciously, although it may change on its own over time. When I was much younger, being social was much more important to me than it is now.

I see this is your first post here on PC. So... to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! May the time you spend here be of benefit.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!