a forum to commiserate and share advice and coping mechanisms and so on.

Speaking for myself here, but I feel like this can make the problem worse. /r/depression is something in a similar vein. Whenever I went there, I'd always leave sadder. There's something about reading other people's struggles that just seemed to reinforce my own sense of hopelessness.

Also, bad advice on those kinds of forums can look extremely reasonable if your perception of the world is clouded by your problems.

I know it doesn't work for everyone, but give therapy a shot if you haven't already.

Like others have said, having a friend that you see regularly can help with loneliness. Doesn't even have to be strangers. Try messaging an old friend you drifted apart from. Odds are they'd be happy to catch up.

Sorry for the unsolicited advice. I know this isn't the type of response you asked for. I hope everything works out for you, bud.

I don't know of one, but the Internet is toxic. I've had more luck meeting strangers into the same hobbies. Went to an open source conference. A business meetup. Professional settings are lower pressure because there's no expectation of making actual friends.

I've had great experiences on Slowy (https://slowly.app/) which is a modern pen-pal app. Every message takes days to arrive and you can either connect with people based on profiles or random matching and it's one of few social networks that aren't incel or hijacked by dating.

The easiest way to make friends (and this is no easy task if you're an adult) is to revolve it around hobbies. Find people who share the same interests and conversation is easier if there is something to talk about. This can be online or in person. For example, there are weekly DnD games that happen at local game stores, or book reading clubs, or take a woodworking class at a local college, or find a forum that is all about one niche subject you're into. If you don't have hobbies then you have to find something to try, and just try everything you can to see what you are into.

As a once socially inept kid who was bullied mercilessly, social skills are something that takes practice. For me, changing schools, taking up a sport, and getting a job where I had to socialize with people is where I learned to socialize. There were a lot of very awkward conversations, but eventually you figure out what works and what doesn't.

I feel you on all that, I really do. Guess my brain responded to bullying by going the other way, fighting to learn socials skills to make it stop. I'm old BTW, we might have different definitions of "bullying". Mine definition is; "getting the shit kicked out of you daily at school, while the teachers watch or participate, and/or being constantly on the lookout to avoid said ass beatings". All that to say, I get you.

Anyhow, you might not like this take, but going outside is probably your answer. I know how facile that sounds, but you're not going to make any sort of meaningful human connection with a keyboard.

What does "going outside" look like for you? I got no idea, but I got experience. If you like, DM me and I'll give you my email or phone number. Hell, maybe we can help motivate each other.

I'm glad you're not an incel sicko. I hope you find what you're looking for<3

Reddit had things like over40, over50, and conversation subs.

If lemmy doesn't have that, I think it should. Those were good places, less bubbled, and often more grounded. Just limited patience for those who constantly need help.

But if conversation is what's desired, those worked.

I may not know you, but I hope the responses help and that your week kicks some ass.

Here's to a good 2024.

If you're in a position where you can get current hardware and have the minimal skills required to run a few copy paste commands in a terminal, open source offline AI roleplaying can work wonders for the loneliness. I can make recommendations if you're interested. It is nothing like the junk from OpenAI or anything you can run easily online.

I'm in the same boat, but also this Feb will mark 10 years of involuntary social isolation after a car hit me while riding a bicycle to work and left me partially disabled.

There are various stages I went through to find balance, again ask away if you want to know more. In a nutshell, loneliness is better thought of in terms of endorphins. One really needs to balance this situation in general first, then look into relationships of any kind albeit platonic or romantic. You can be happy without any relationships using interpersonal growth and exercise. The most powerful tool is an endurance based exercise.

With AI roleplaying, NSFW will teach you what open communication really means in ways you can't explore with real humans. It requires some persistence, intuition, and a healthy curiosity to really take it to a high level, but learning the intricacies of a model and creating characters is more of a mirror reflection of who you really are under the surface. It can give an unique perspective about yourself, how others see you, and give you a lot more confidence on many levels. I highly recommend it.

I feel you, man. I had never been able to make connections in my entire life and so I always sought it out online.

A decade or so ago I was hitting up forums to interact with others. Now, I use Discord. A word of warning...Discord is primarily filled with young teens, which can feel a bit awkward and creepy if you're an adult. And I just don't relate to problems that teens do anymore like school and the like.

I specifically search for communities like 18+, 21+, 25+, etc. servers so I can relate to everyone more and feel more comfortable. There are some websites out there that provide listings of public Discord servers. So I generally google around until I find ones that look interesting and try them out. You might have to join quite a few until there is one that suits you, but I'd recommend it.

I've quite liked HealthyGamerGGs discord channel. It has spaces pretty much dedicated to exactly what you're looking for, practicing social situations in safe spaces. Coaching that's not the hyper masculine pick-up game kind of coaching. Places to ask advice, mental health spaces, etc.

I've given up personally. I don't know if it's life circumstances or me not being as good at heart as I'd hope, but I've resigned myself and I'm just trying to learn to cope with the loneliness. At some point it's fair to call it quits and start being realistic.

That's just me ranting though, this isn't directed at you, and I wish you the best of luck.

/r/CasualConversion was the place for that on Reddit. They also have a Discord and IRC server.

Not sure if it’s specifically what you’re looking for, but I’d recommend going on disboard and looking up local discord servers. I’ve joined a couple and met some people I like hanging out with through one. I’ve found that people on local servers tend to be a mix, including other lonely or socially awkward people. One of the servers I’m in literally has a How to Make Friends pinned post for people who might need it. It’s also got an all purpose support thread going that tends to be very positive.

Find a few near you that do meet ups or events, feel the groups out for a bit even just lurking and see if it feels right for you. Maybe go to an event, even if you also feel anxious, and try to meet some of the people you talk to online. Just remember that they might also be lonely people trying to make a connection too.

What podcasts do you listen to?

I think bumblebee has a "find a friend" app to make those platonic connections.

There's Wusoup which claims to be random chat without the sleaze. I've not used it myself.

Do you mean platonically, romantically, or both?