FOR MANY OF us, the idea of making friends in adulthood seems damn near impossible.

Sure, you might have surface-level friendships with colleagues and establish somewhat of a connection with individuals who partake in similar activities as you, but when it comes to meaningful friendships, there is a reason many of us are so grateful for the ones we established in childhood and adolescence.

Why? Well, because the effort that goes into establishing genuine friendships can seem particularly daunting as an adult.

Without having Pokemon cards to trade or the prospect of a play date to look forward to, forging friendships without the help of childhood touchstones takes considered effort for a great number of us.

And even the greatest intentions in the world can feel like they’ve been rendered futile if you suffer from social anxiety.

Whether it’s through personal experience or watching the evolution of a friend’s personality, many of us are aware of an individual – considered particularly sociable in their younger years – who has undergone a gradual or indeed sudden 180, and now struggles to establish connections with people in adulthood.

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Discussing this issue on Twitter yesterday, US singer, Khalid, told his followers, who number in excess of two million, that social anxiety causes him to over-think things and ultimately prevents him from establishing new relationships.

“I want to make new friends but shit… it’s HARD. All this pressure in my chest, all the overthinking,” he wrote.

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Buoyed by interaction from his followers, the 20-year-old Grammy Award nominee elaborated on this, adding:

You just end up staying inside and shit bc going out gets soooo difficult. It’s something I’ve gained, I feel like. Making friends used to be so easy and shit now I’m like… let me just go home. (sic)

The singer revealed that he often feels overwhelmed in certain environments, but simultaneously feels disillusioned when he avoids certain situations due to social anxiety.

“I feel like I miss out on a lot by never wanting to go out,” he told followers.

Khalid’s candour acted as a platform for the sharing of lived experiences among his fans and followers, a number of whom asserted that they could relate to the sentiments shared by the artist.

At a time when some corners of society fear that the frequency with which we discuss mental health has somewhat minimised the gravity of certain conditions, Khalid’s honesty has proven quite the opposite.

I have social anxiety and I really look up to you like I’m really so f*cking proud of you for managing all this.

ME TOOOOO. I feel bad bc like it’s nothing against the people in my life. I just fr can’t be in an environment w/ a lot of people. (sic)

Like it’s really irritating, especially the overthinking part, and it kinda takes over your life also.

With tens of thousands of people interacting within the thread, a community was emboldened by the support shown by the vast majority of its contributors.

As such, a space was created where individuals could openly discuss their own experiences of social anxiety, thereby slowly chipping away at the stigma so many of us fear.

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