Sadly I feel the same way. I used to be really really naive about people.
It got my spirit very battered and used.
I wish there were more people like you in the world.

I tend to stay alone a lot because most people are cliqueish and cold.
It'so sad.

I was raise with my father telling me that friends are users. Till this day I have trouble making friends. I keep my distance. One day a few years back. I decided I was going to let a friend come into my life. I really wanted and needed one. She was an angel. You just wanted to be around her. She just exilerated positive energy. I thought I hit the jack pot. But the my angel turned out to be a devil in disguise. So much for taking the chance on a friendship.

I think that we HSPs are at a real disadvantage when it comes to friendships. I know that I give WAY MORE than I get and I eventually end up feeling used. I sometimes feel that I am not meant to be in this world with insensitive ones. I wish I could associate more with others who are HSP.

I've been used before. It hurts. Some of the people I call friends now are people I've known for a really long time. New people, I'm more cautious.

I keep reminding myself that I have no control over other people & I'm not responsible for other people's thoughts, words, actions.

I only have control over what I think or say or do.

We all make mistakes so we all occasionally need to apologize.

If there is someone in my life who seems just too negative then I move away from them. I can't change them so I allow them to be who they are...I wish them well & let them go there own way.

I don't want to give the impression that this is easy...I continue to learn how to live in peace with myself & others.

Yep, generally people have nice outercrust, but when you peek inside there can be such darkness. Keep gravating to people who are sensitive and moral like you. Have your kids choose their friends wisely. If friends don't act true like you, then they are not really friends.

hmmm I was used too. not even this I thought I had some good friends but they pretend now they don't even know me....I have heard they tell very ugly things about me...
I still like people but Iam scared and don't trust them, I can't be open to them

I think most people are basically good.
I think you see what you are looking for.
I think people will continue to play out patterned behaviors until they are made aware of them in some way.....or not .
Most people really like belonging to a group.
So, if society decides things are done this way or that...then most people follow suit and do what they see being done by everyone else, like thinking of themselves or taking advantage of others.
Those that find an alternate route may be labeled different, weird or even crazy.
It depends how threatened " the group " feels.

I think interacting with people is like mixing different chemicals together.
Sometimes things go nowhere and sometimes things can be explosive.
I think it is fascinating that people can bring out the best in us, or the very worst.
We are the same inside.
But, like a kaleidoscope, we shift in various ways depending on who's company we choose to keep.

I think with people it is important to remember to take what you like best about them and....leave the rest.
Take what you like and leave the rest.
Appreciate their goodness. The more you look for it, they more of it you find.

The truly wonderful thing I like about people is that, in a time of distress or crisis, if a few of the
" group " cross over to help and support one of the weird people, or just plain someone in trouble....then there is a shift and a majority of society or " the group " expands their personal level of comfort and reaches out to do something similar. There is a general mind expansion that happens.
Something that is even cooler is this.
When some of society mentioned above witnesses a kind or charitable gesture of goodness, they may just watch and do nothing. However, at another time, they may put this supportive action into play in a different situation at another time. That is awesome.

I am a seeker. That means I am working on myself all the time in order to be a better person.
Even with the words I have written, I can screw up and be a real jerk, too.
I don't like how that feels.
So, I have to look inside to see what I can change about me.

I agree with the above statement that if the way a person lives there life is offensive or unhealthy for you, then privately wish them peace, give thanks that you are not in that closed off place and get the heck outta there.

The more I trust myself, the easier it is to trust other people.

I am so tired, I am not even making sense to myself anymore.

If I look at a person and focus on their faults or see only what I dislike, I get all judgmental and tight.
If I look at the very same person with a completely different perspective, I am always amazed at all the great stuff I had previously overlooked.

GoodGod...

Everything you just said makes sense to me.

As I was reading your words...I felt like I wanted to underline & highlight & put stars everywhere.

Yes, GG, what you say makes perfect sense to me too. With me, it really is a matter of perspective when it comes to friends. It can be very easy for us HSP to find fault with others, but there is often more good than not and we are certainly not perfect. I can easily work myself up over something a friend said or did and then see them again in a completely different light. That's not to say that I have not been hurt by self-serving people and that I do not befriend just anyone, but I try to give people the benefit of the doubt as I would like them to do the same for me.

I am and have always been the same way. When I meet someone we are friends for a short time then for some reason the friendship does not seem to last. Maybe I am to against myself or end up picking up so much on the other person that I talk myself into disliking them? I have been like that all my life and hate it!..Cindy

You know, my problem is that I always look for the hidden meaning behind what someone says or does. I've been emotionally battered by so many people in my life, that I don't trust what they say... only what I see them do. As a consequence, I have no close friends. I'm close only with my fiance, my mother and my daughter. Everyone else in my life I keep at a bit of a distance. I can't seem to get this protective barrier down.

i feel the same way. i think the human race is pathetic.

In general, NO!

People tend to hurt my feelings too much...

I am quite the introvert due to sensitivity, anxiety, and other factors!!

In general for me I would say I do like people but I like my animals more lol. I tend not to get myself in situations where I depend on people to get happiness but rather just enjoy the moments that people give me from time to time. I try to stay away from negative people if I can. To me I have always believed everything in moderation that includes relationships. I can love and care for another but I also know that a part of me keeps just a bit of armor up.