[irrational_behavior]

I see that this thread is rather old, however many of the previous posts are so similar to what I myself am experiencing.

I am married, mother of one. When I was younger, I had lots of friends - I met my husband when I was 23 and pretty much lost touch with all my close friends that I had. 17 years later, I have found it very hard to make new friends. My husband and I have some mutual friends, but he isn't very social. I find that I am very lonely and depressed all the time.

I am very clingy and needy with anyone I might start to become friends with, and I usually end up pushing people away. I am a very emotional person, and I get attached to friends, etc. very easily and I find myself irrationally expecting people I get close with to constantly pay attention to me or talk to me or spend time with me. I know this is irrational...I know it is not the 'norm'...I know people (friends/spouse/etc) need to do things and spend time with others besides me, but even knowing that my feelings and emotional needs are irrational, I can't seem to get control over it.

I am at my wit's end and I am tired of feeling so needy with everyone in my life. It results in crazy anxiety attacks and causes me to have self-esteem issues because I feel like if someone isn't spending time with me, etc...it's because I have done/said something wrong. I don't know what to do or how to even try to cope with this and make it better.