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Dealing with lonliness

Graduated in 2021, got an okayish job, still doing well career wise. I tried my own startups too. But I've never got the feeling of "yehi karna hai yaar life mein". All the friends are now disconnected. Doing WFH since forever and don't even have good connections at my current org or in my previous org. Tried therapy as well, didn't help much, they recommended medications, but that I'm not willing to do as of now. I don't know whether it's just me or this gruelling feeling of existential dread will ever go away. Maybe software engineering as a domain is like that, encourages introverts and introvertedness. But idk something is not right. No friends, no space to vent out frustrations. And it's been about 3 years since I last had a conversation with the opposite gender. I'm in complete mental mess, only thing keeping me alive is probably gym. I just want something to cling on to, to know this is not the end and this is not how it will end.

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Shishimaru

Walmart

a year ago

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ShadyEngineer

Startup

a year ago

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Shishimaru

Walmart

a year ago

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baatli_wala

Amazon

a year ago

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ShadyEngineer

Startup

a year ago

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TheOatmeal

Stealth

a year ago

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BoogieMan

Stealth

a year ago

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ShadyEngineer

Startup

a year ago

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Dhoni

Target

a year ago

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Sugar

Stealth

a year ago

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ModiMeloni

Deloitte

a year ago

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SillyEqual74

MNC, Indian

a year ago

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Bangalore on

by MT_Ego

Amazon

Connected by Lonely in Bangalore (viral online post)

I saw a friend tweet about how Bangalore is full of connected but lonely people jumping in to join every Meetup/WhatsApp group that becomes available. This is my problem with the meetup / conference culture. Meetup culture is all about optionality. You think you'll meet someone new who's cool. Someone who can help you build your network. You would rather join a meetup with 100 other strangers than build stronger connections with your friends. In life there are only a few people who really matter. People who you can call at 11 PM to rant about your workday. People who you know will be genuinely happy about your promotion. People you share screenshots from work with. It is not probably the 100 strangers in that Whatsapp group that you think of when you are having a health issue and want to share your fears. It also means lowering your ego, which I'm happy to do with my old friends. I'm always happy to ping them when I get the chance, and I'm the one asking them to call me. I'm the one who asks them to hang out with me. I used to think, "Why bother?" but then I realised that it doesn't matter who reaches out first. It is not about keeping a count. I realised it's for me! If I have a chat with a friend of mine who I have known for over 10 years, my mood improves immediately. Everyone is very busy. Everyone is stressed with their jobs and their personal lives. Some of them are married now. Some have children. But that's where you've got to work to keep connecting with the people who matter to you. Friendship is also about being vulnerable. True friendship is built on vulnerability. Being able to share your dreams, your failures and your demons with each other. While the meetup culture is all about bumping into people for 5 minutes to judge their worth and whether they are worth your time, my preference is for long 1-1s. Either on the phone or face to face. I am happy to meet just one person over the weekend and have hours of conversation about work, life or wha