There's nothing wrong with only having 2 friends. I was shy in school. I never dated any boys but I had lots of crushes. I am still friends with my best friend from way back then, but just on Facebook. I was very shy in school but in the 80s, I became real confident and I actually joined the class reunion committee. The people on the committee were real popular. They are very nice. So work on your confidence. What are you good at?

I can totally relate to everything you said. I've never had that many friends either & I have social anxiety too. I am thankful to the friends I have on Daily Strength & to my family but other then this I do not have any friends & only have 17 friends on my Facebook which to me is very embarrassing & I have 6 friends on my Instragram. I was just thinking how bad this makes me feel today & how I could talk to a therapist about this and find out ways I can make friends because I'd like to make more friends. I just want to say you are not alone and I understand and I hope u make more friends because from your post I think you seem like a nice person. Hugs

I never had a lot of friends either. During my teenage years, I had one best friend. That was it. Then her family and her moved to Greece. It was the loneliest period for me, I remember crying all that summer because I had no one as a friend. I had no friends at all then, at least for a couple of years. Later on, I did make some friends, but none of the friendships lasted. I have bad social anxiety too. It really sucks, it's such a lonely existence.

You are okay just the way you are. Giving presentations or talking in front of people is a good skill to learn. Most of us feel nervous about this kind of thing. Prepare your talk and practice. Most of us feel everyone is thinking about us, but really everyone is focused on themselves. Especially in high school. They are not worried about you, they don't care about you, they care about themselves and are thinking of themselves. That is a little secret not many know. And their fear and anxiety often makes the girls really mean and the boys bully too. This is their inner emotional turmoil coming out just like your panic is you emotional turmoil coming out. I encourage you to start to change your self talk so that you are saying good things about yourself to yourself. Each night, think of three good things from that day and find one or two things to praise yourself for. One thing today is you reached out here on DS and told strangers how you feel. Label your feelings with positive words rather than negative beating yourself down words. So I would say today you were brave and eloquent.

And I only had one friend at a time in high school. My husband had a lot of friends. He is outgoing, I am introverted. Sometimes I think men keep their friends or stick around with friends longer than women seem to. I have had more friends at times but the last say 15 years, I have lost more and more friends for various reasons. Some moved, and then I moved, some had mental health breakdowns, others started drinking heavily, and some even blew me off when I had some family problems that overwhelmed me. I am a grandmother and I have been working on making new friends for 3 years now. It is hard. Many people just want to do social media friends, FB and IG type stuff. This is not my idea of a friendship. My family members all have serious problems that make them difficult and unhappy and sometimes life is hard. Learning to cope with hard things in life is a good thing. Learning to endure the bad in life will serve you well as eventually a good part comes around again.

Good luck on this presentation stuff, I know you can do it. Try not to make it a catastrophe in advance or get so worried in advance. Remind yourself that you are fine and you will do well. I have confidence that a person who can write a thoughtful and moving post like you have can succeed at anything you try. The panic attacks can be overcome. Sending you big cyber hugs and best wishes.

Never judge yourself on the quantity of friends you have but the quality of them. I only had about three people that I hung out with throughout high school but they were truly friends, not merely acquaintances and we were really there for each other and kept each other's secrets. I am a mom of 4, two of my kids suffer from anxiety and occasional panic attacks. My 14-year old tends to make friends easy but is always afraid people are judging her and that she'll do something that will embarrass herself. I totally get it and I hate to see her struggle so much. You have my deepest sympathy for your struggles. She has done some group therapy and that has helped some. Be kind and loving to yourself. After all you are going to be with yourself the rest of your life!! I know it's hard but try to understand that you are capable of overcoming this. Keep trying and trying. Don't let your struggles define you. Do your best and again forgive and love yourself. It does get better after high school.