Hi guys...I'm 23, turning 24 in December and have spent most of my adolescence in online spaces, like stan twitter and spam instagram, blah blah. For the longest time I used my proximity (college, grade school, coworkers) and these online spaces for friendships. But I'm an adult now. And it's hard to just have time to go outside, let alone speak to new people. So, I have been thinking about my old internet friends, and tried to reach out to one, but turns out she had changed her number. We followed each other on instagram, but she had also deactivated recently. We barely know each other anymore, and ahvent spoken in two years, and yet it feels like my heart has completely shattered in two. I think it's the nostalgia. I never felt alone back then as a teenager; I always had people to talk to, and now that everyone's so busy, me included, I feel a loneliness more profound that I ever have before. I need to stop thinking about people I used to know, and figure out how to find joy in my life now so I can stop feeling nostalgic, but my life just sucks so bad in this moment that all I can feel is the yearning for the past connections I had. Does anyone know how to ease this? It feels like these a massive hole in my heart. It feels like the rest of the world has moved on and I'm completely stuck, and I'm terrified of it, but I don't have the means to keep moving, at least not for two years. Please help! :(

It's a lifelong search. Stand proud, you're strong :>
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im 20, autistic, chronically mentally ill, and in this same position. was extremely chronically online since i was little and most of my connections were on the internet. i dropped out of college because of financial and mental health struggles and became agoraphobic. i only work and go home to talk to my girlfriend. i hardly do anything. one thing that's helped me become more motivated to start and keep connections is getting rid of social media, funnily. i realized that the way i use the internet is not healthy and was becoming a form of escapism instead of a place to meet people and see my friends. i think the only way to do it is for us to just go out and do it. a lot of people right now are stuck in this position i think. that's why the internet is becoming increasingly more cruel and toxic. it's like we all have tunnel vision staring at our screens and shutting out what is outside of us. the real world seems very daunting, i know. but there is still good people out there. there are people like you waiting for a friend to come along, but we're all scared of making the first move. start slow, i just deleted my tiktok, account, soon my instagram. i'm giving my number out to close friends who want to stay in contact with me and i want to stay in contact with. i'm going to find out what my REAL hobbies are, and participate in the ones i do have more. i'm texting all of my friends and updating them on what's been going on with me these past months, getting insurance and starting therapy soon, and hopefully getting an official ocd diagnosis and get medicated. i don't know a lot about your life, but if you're able to get therapy you should definitely consider it. even if not, simply taking a step off the internet and becoming more present in your world is a start. go to cafes, find clubs in your city, go out with your friends instead of witnessing their lives through small curated posts. it's going to be difficult but think about how much can change starting with something small.

>>3 sometimes the past wasn't as great as we thought it was. and living in the past constantly keeps you from experiencing your present time. sure, we can reminisce all we want but it's over. it's not coming back. but great things ARE coming. there's going to be more friendships, more heartbreaks, more coworkers, and more internet to explore. everything you've experienced in the past is only a small glimpse of the many many things out there. new cities, new clubs, new hobbies, new styles, new pets, new movies, and music, and art and people that you're bound to come across. surround yourself in hope. find something to hope for every day.