lately ive been feeling left out in my friend group. in my friend group, there are 5 girls including myself. however i am the only girl in the friend group who is in a different class and lately i feel like ive been 5th wheeling them and im not sure if its just me over thinking or if its actually happening and today whe we went out, i shut down and started disassociating and went quiet and didnt reply much except for a few words here and there or a few nods and thumbs up or gestures and one friend wrote on her status “got problem then just say lah! we already showed CONCERN.” but the thing was i was already just really tired and hence defaulted to disassociating and shutting down. and other factors like school, love life and family stuff has been effecting me and im not one to communicate so i came across as rude and when i wrote an apology to the group addressing my behaviour, its just marked as left on read.
Hey @lwksodone,
That sounds really heavy… feeling left out in your own friend group hits deep, especially when you’re already juggling school, family stuff, and love life on top of everything. Shutting down and going quiet doesn’t necessarily make you rude.
Sometimes your brain just goes into low-battery mode when it’s overwhelmed, and dissociating is more like a coping response than a choice. And seeing that status + being left on read after you already apologised…yeah, that would sting anyone and make you second-guess yourself.
Honestly, I don’t feel that you were trying to hurt anyone. It seems like you were just exhausted and trying to get through the day. It’s okay that you’re not someone who communicates easily. Everyone has different emotional styles.
Maybe, give yourself a little breathing space first before assuming the worst, because group dynamics can get messy and misunderstandings happen fast. And hey…you deserve friends who try to understand your quiet moments too, not just the bubbly ones. Feeling frustrated is a perfectly human emotion, and you’re just human and going through a lot right now.
At this moment, may I also ask if there are coping strategies which may be helpful in working through this difficult moment? If you need to bounce off ideas or find out more about what works for you, we’ll be there. 