[spiral87]

Surround yourself with good people. Not just people, but good people, interesting people. I feel that's all you need. I was at my happiest in life when I was working for a charity among people my own age from similar backgrounds with similar back stories. I didn't need to seek approval from people because I was getting it through my friends' actions. All my feelings of insecurity went away. Silly things I used to think, like worrying that when I meet someone new, I have to entertain them in some way or they won't like me, went away. As soon as I left this environment, within a few weeks I was back to my old self, horribly insecure, feeling very down, very gloomy...but the thought of what I'd experienced picked me up again. How do people feel about this?

[krussel]

(Original post by spiral87)
Not just people, but good people, interesting people. I feel that's all you need.

I was at my happiest in life when I was working for a charity among people my own age from similar backgrounds with similar back stories.

I didn't need to seek approval from people because I was getting it through my friends' actions. All my feelings of insecurity went away. Silly things I used to think, like worrying that when I meet someone new, I have to entertain them in some way or they won't like me, went away.

As soon as I left this environment, within a few weeks I was back to my old self, horribly insecure, feeling very down, very gloomy...but the thought of what I'd experienced picked me up again.

How do people feel about this?

True, you will be happier when around people who aren't judgemental and narrow minded.

[g_star_raw_1989]

You've answered your own question but come to the wrong conclusion. If your happiness is dependent on other people then you'll never truly be happy. You need to sort out the issues that are making you insecure and be content with yourself and then you'll be happy. Simply relying on others for happiness is never going to work.

[ct2k7]

I'd tend to agree with it.

I surrounded myself for 2 months with peers who'd regularly emphasise and make fun of me. Those were my darkest times where I then began to feel the need to compensate.

Though now 3 weeks after leaving them, it's hard to shake to feeling of the need to compensate.

[spiral87]

(Original post by g_star_raw_1989)
You've answered your own question but come to the wrong conclusion. If your happiness is dependent on other people then you'll never truly be happy. You need to sort out the issues that are making you insecure and be content with yourself and then you'll be happy. Simply relying on others for happiness is never going to work.

Humans are social creatures, there's nothing wrong with saying that someone who is pretty much alone or with the wrong crowd of people will crumble over time.

[spiral87]

To add a further bit of intrigue to the story, one of the guys I met while away was a squatter, he was estranged from his parents for several years, he barely had a penny to his name, but he always said the most important thing was to have good friends...he wouldn't swap that for all the money in the world.

[CherryCherryBoomBoom]

(Original post by krussel)
True, you will be happier when around people who aren't judgemental and narrow minded.

Yeah, so true! Must be a major reason why I was so depressed at school - so many awful negative people who picked on me for dumb-ass reasons - even people who were supposed to be my friends! I was really affected by this for a while after, but I would love to try and put it all behind me one day and just start a clean slate with better people, somewhere.

Sorry to bump a slightly old thread, but I just felt like a quick look through some of your interesting threads, OP

[spiral87]

(Original post by CherryCherryBoomBoom)
Sorry to bump a slightly old thread, but I just felt like a quick look through some of your interesting threads, OP

No worries stalker!