I am in my 40's and I have friendship anxiety. I am sure this has to do with people coming and going out of my life. I also worry if I said the wrong thing or turned others off. My fear is them abandoning me for little reason or simply because I am not worth it to them.
I am reading that book "Lonely". Great book, highly recommended. In it says that people who experienced divorce of their parents before 6 often have loneliness issues or abandonment issues. For the longest time I thought that was ancient history and had little effect on my emotional make up but after reading there is a connection between loneliness and lack of relationship security to early divorce of parents before 6, I re thought things. I now see that made a HUGE impact on me and it's one of the reasons I have been insecure about my worth for most my life, socially anxious, needing to please and be accepted, feared abandonment and developed regular loneliness.
I've gotten better with age, though. Although I really crave more conversation, caring and sharing in my life, I am less insecure. That is because I have changed my thoughts and reiterate why I am a nice, worthwhile person.
Windowsill...don't give up. A lot of this stuff is part of your emotional make up that you just have to figure out how to heal. I suggest affirmations and changing self talk and perhaps looking into your past that may have caused this. Then, take steps to build self- esteem and a belief that you are OK as you are and worth loving.
By the way, I am in my early 40s. Anyone else here around my age??? I have a sense that this forum is mostly very young people...which is OK, of course. Just wondering if there are older people here?