Feeling left out

Post Reply New Topic

This is the story of my life (well, not the wedding part, I've never been asked to be part of a wedding party) but the getting left out and people making plans without me and not telling me. My family has done this as long as I can remember (and acquaintances have done some, but I really don't purposely hang out with non-relatives who act like this once it becomes evident). To the point that, I really would prefer to do things with just one or two of them not more than that, because when a few of them get together (like my mother and my sister, or my cousins), they start excluding me.

A lot of it is supposed "teasing" like: leaving me behind at a location or acting like they are going to. "Forgetting" me. Talking about me to each other in the 3rd person. Putting me in the far back of the vehicle and rolling down the windows so I can't hear the conversation up front (stating this is the reason).

They also make plans with each other like going on trips and vacations and then say "I thought you knew?" sometimes they don't tell me until after they come back, and I'm not invited or even informed (I get the impression sometimes that they don't tell me because I might want to go, so they pretend later that they thought they told me or they wait until it's too late).

In terms of more distant acquaintances like people at work, some of whom I wouldn't mind being friends with, it's almost always been a situation where I feel "out of the loop." I'm the last to find out about plans, parties, lunches, etc and it's usually after the fact (not that I would invite myself along to these things if nobody asked). Yeah, I have a lot of trouble in social situations, and I'm certainly not the life of the party, but unfortunately I still feel the need for social contact, so it would be nice to be included even as uncomfortable as it can be (with the exception that if they're just going to sit around and drink or I don't actually like any of the people, I would avoid it).