Dear Milly,

It is a lonely circumstance, but your friends had found new interests to focus on that you can’t really relate to. Also, you guys are still in school and are still learning how to function as individuals yourself so when you find something new and interesting, that will usually take up most of your attention. So right now your friends are focus on their relationship and other things are background noises.

So, it’s difficult, but it’s best you muster up courage to find new friends. Your friends are now choosing something that has little to do with you so even if you wish to stay friends, it won’t be the same as before. People change with time and your friends are doing so now. Try to accept that and move on. Use this time to understand yourself as you are now, from your interests to your favorite subject in school. Use that information to seek people who share similar interest. They are out there, you just have to search for them. There’s also the world wide web.

Regarding your anxiety of not fitting in, right now, you are viewing yourself as an outsider along with the situation with your friend, it exacerbated your general anxiety. It’s not unusual for a person who is prone to anxiety to developed severe social anxiety due to their environment. It would be best for you to get professional help to deal with your anxiety since there are trained professionals who work with people who have anxiety. They can help you figure out techniques to calm your anxiety whenever it might flair up.

Right now, it might feel as if you are in the middle of a storm. But even storms will eventually come to an end and you’ll be able to see the sky again.

Good luck.