I feel the same way. I have two very dear friends at work, two very, very dear friends at DS and my family. I have many people in my firneds list so i guess i have friends but I am not as close to some as I am to others. i am always afraid i will say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing or act "weird" and be socially incorrect. that happened a lot in high school.

I am like you in the way that I have trouble in keeping friends. I love people and it's very easy for me to make friends...I'll talk to anyone and like to be funny..get people to smile and feel good is a real pleasure for me. KEeping them is difficult as I have moved around a lot and often didn't have time as a single mom with a full time job to spend time with friends. Also with my illness I can easily alienate people (I tend to get on the phone and start yelling at people for no reason).

My advice to you would be concentrate on your own strengths and establish friends that way through common interests. Your husband is different than you and through him you are gettign the benefit of meeting lots of people that could potentially be your friend as well through common interests. Don''t be jealous he is doing you a favour.

Not everyone can be the life of the party...there have to be people who play the part of listeners etc...Maybe you just don't have the need for looking after people like your husband and that's ok. You have your own strengths...join a club or something with people of like interests...you'll meet lots of people that way.

I used to be on FACEBOOK and that's how I kept up with all my friends. And I wasn't what they call a "friend collector". Those that will friend anyone just to have a high number. But I ended up with a stalker and had to get off there. Since then, I do have trouble maintaining friendships. But some of that recently has been of my own volition. I am just coming out of a depression so I didn't want to see anyone, go anywhere. My closest friend is actually my baby sister. My husband also has more friends, but he had more when he met me. Once we fell in love we got lost in each other. We are one another's best friend. But yeah. I feel you. When I watch HOUSE HUNTERS and the people always talk about entertaining my husband and I are like why is everyone so into that. But now that my Bipolar is improving, I am looking to reconnect with my friends. I miss my girls. In your case, your husband sounds very gregarious and outgoing. They tend to get all the attention because their personality demands it. That's how it is with me and my friend Debbi. She has the kavorka(that's from a SEINFELD episode) and people are drawn to her. People are drawn to me cause I'm a great story teller, real stories, and I crack them up. Just me being me. So find what your kavorka is and try that an see if that helps. Sorry for the novel. And I don't know if I helped. I hope I did. PEACE.

I had a friend from high school and 2 friends from college that I kept in touch with until last year. One of my friends died from the swine flu. The other two didn't like that I was getting married, so they split. I miss having girlfriends to talk to.

I have no friends in the town I live in other then my aunt (who is also BP1) and uncle, and their daughter and her family. I have one TRUE friend that I trust with everything and her and I talk on the phone and messenger everyday. Other then I have about 5 or so other friends but they don't know about the BP I do have a lot of friends from an online forum called The Closet but I haven't even had the guts to tell them yet what's wrong with me either. I find myself very lonely most of the time, and I have been running off/away from people since diagnosed with BP for fear of acting "crazy" around them. I miss life before the anxiety took over and I could go out, meet people, and be somewhat normal. I really miss having a boyfriend to cuddle with the most.

Hi cresteddad!

You are not alone. This is something I've struggled with all of my life. I think for me, it's that I'm just nutz and people don't like it. It's like I have different personalities, depending on where the BP is taking me at any given moment. I ask my husband why he likes me and loves me. He says he just likes it all (don't know why). I'm glad you have a few good ones in your life as well!

Hi Cresteddad,
I can completely relate to you. I only have a few good friends. I really have a hard time getting and keeping friends. It gets very lonely at times. It has been really painful lately because one of my good friends is moving away and the other friend who we spent all our time together got abusive and said I wasn't her only friend and she was moving on. I am trying to just get comfortable being alone, but its not easy!!!

You have two more friends than I do. I have pretty much quaranteened myself from people since I was dx with bp. I no longer have the confidence to mix with people and like you, I find I have run out of people skills. All I can say is thank God I have a lot in common with myself.

I don't have any problems with the surface "gettin along" type of friendship, but anything deeper is pretty hard to maintain. I get along particularly well when I'm on an up, people are always laughing, and I just keep to myself when I'm on a down. Very few people actually get inside though. I have to say its difficult to want many of them to. Being like this is being a man on fire (for the most part). How could someone not like that relate? How could I relate to them?

Yes I understand what you're saying. My husband is the complete socialite. I almost avoid / try get out of social gatherings with him. I also feel the ignored part. But this is mainly when I'm depressed. When I'm depressed I feel like a recluse and I don't feel like being around anyone.

my name is vader.Iam 62 years old and I am old enough to be your grandmother.I dont have many friends either,and it is hard after 40 to make friends today because everyone has got different interests.I dont drink and I dont smoke and I dont take drugs.I also dont camp or do anything of the outdoor things that are popular in seattle.I am in mourning for my boyfriend who committed suicide on May 22nd,2009 and I still am having problems dealing with it,.But people today are diffferent and I am so afraid of saying the wrong thing or being out of place because of peoples interests.I have had many friends in life...but things happen.I had a good friend growing up in the 1950s but she moved to South Carolina and I havent heard from her since 1978 and I dont have the time or the money to track her down.I also had friends in work and we wer close but then i quit my job and back then these were store friends and store friends are just friends while you work in the store and they do not bother with you outside of the place of business.I also had school friends but then also we parted company because they away to college and in college you meet new people and you get new friends for how long.Everyone needs friends.Ever since Brad died I have been lonely but I dont have anyone now to share this loneliness with all i have is the music of Guns N Roses.But do remember this....even with the best intentions...people can grown apart and when this happens...it is wise to call it a day.

As i age my BP is getting worse.
I used to have a good number of close friends and we entertained frequently.
Now i have 2 good friends and that's about it. I haven't had company, aside from these two friends, except for my in-laws.
I have long, deep depressions and I become very reclusive and stay at home.
To be honest, I think other people want friends that are more reliable than i am. I can hardly blame them. Most people don't want to be bothered learning about BP and depression and they just move on.