I totally understand. Therapy helped me with my social skills and also with this ....
one of my wordly friends told me that... i thought he didnt notice but he told me straight and clear, "why dont you let me in?" i did not know what to say... is super hard...
ME TOO!!! It's a big hurdle to overcome, but YOU CAN DO IT. I now have the world's best friends,,, not a lot, but a handful.
And I don't know if you do this, but I didn't realize for many years that I was still judging people in my mind "she's kinda slutty", "he drinks too much", etc. People pick up on this, even when you don't express it verbally. Another good thing to 'work on',,, accepting people for who they are, and it really gets easier when you start to accept yourself for the lovely, bright person YOU are ,,, love yourself and others will love you, too.
Oh, and you do belong. You are no longer alone in how you feel. We can belong to many tribes in our lifetime,,, and this is one of mine. Welcome to the tribe!
(((Free!!)))
tal