Mom of Young Kids Says She Has ‘No Friends’ — And a Lot of Other Women Admit They Can Relate
The woman says she has tried meeting up with colleagues from work and parents from play groups, but "nothing sticks"
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Lonely woman (stock image)A woman shared a candid post about feeling as though she has “absolutely no friends” — and it turns out a lot of other women can relate.
The woman, who says she is in her early 30s, revealed her experience on the “Relationships” forum on the U.K.-based parenting website Mumsnet. She began her post by writing, “I don’t really know how it happened as I used to have friends but everyone drifted away from me.“
“I’ve tried meeting people at baby and toddler groups, I’ve suggested meeting up with people I’m friendly with at work. I’ve gone out with my [husband’s] friends' partners but nothing sticks,” she continued.
She went on to say that she is currently on maternity leave and mostly spends her days alone with her kids — which she says “is great” but adds “I don’t hear from any adults at all.”
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Sad woman (stock image)The woman concluded her post by saying she feels like she “sounds so pathetic” and asked her fellow community members if there is “anyone else like me?”
The post was quickly flooded with comments from other women who say that they can completely relate to the OP’s [original poster] dilemma — and were relieved that someone else put words to the experience.
“Me too. In my 20s I worked with many singletons with loads of time and extra cash for nights out. How life changes with kids,” wrote one woman. “I've now relocated a number of times, kids in secondary [school] and I'm self employed," she continued. "So I have zero friends. What doesn't happen that I thought would [happen] is making mom friends via school.”
“I think it's harder to make friends the older you get; people's friendship groups are often set in stone and they aren't open to forming new ones,” wrote another person.
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A third commenter noted that she often finds friendships “situational,” but once the situation changes — as in, for example, a change in workplace — the friendship “peters out.” However, she adds, “I will continue to try!”
Another person advised the OP to think about what she enjoys doing and look for connections from there.
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“What kinds of people do you like, OP? Who do you find interesting? What do you like doing? What do you bring to potential friendships? I always find a similar note in posts on here from people saying they have no friends — they seem to act as if other people are an undifferentiated mass, rather than individuals with very different lives, priorities and things they might look for in potential friendships,” the person wrote.
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