How can I pretend to enjoy the company of others?

I have a hard time pretending to be happy in the company of other people. I find conversations with most people to be either awkward and forced, or annoying and uninteresting. I do not feel bad about this, and don’t want to change how I feel about the conversation. I just want to be better at pretending that I enjoy having them there when I really don’t. I do not enjoy the company of most of my family members, and they are beginning to scold me for “not loving them”. I do love them, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy their personality or who they are as an individual. I have tried explaining it to them, and they either take what I say and contort it into something completely different, or outright ignore what I said. Since they refuse to listen to me in a conversation, I have decided the only thing left to do is to fake it until I can move away.

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Anonymous

1,181

2 Answers

Haha, I totally get what you're saying. It's hard having to try and get along with someone that you don't really care for. There's a lot of my family that I have nothing in common with and we have to try and get on at every family event and it's not easy sometimes. The only thing I can think of to suggest is to find one thing that you have in common with said person and make that the main thing that you bond about. It gives you something to have pleasant conversation about so that they don't feel as though you're ignoring them or dislike them altogether. For example, my uncle and I don't get along at ALL, but he tends to ask about jobs I have or we talk about Doctor Who because it's something we both watch and enjoy. Even something as simple as a song you both like can give you enough of a conversation that you'll have at least some interest in and can talk about for a little while before one of you moves on to talk with someone else.

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thissortoflove

213

hey im the same way! :) im an introvert! I would rather be alone by myself, than talking or socialing with people. I currently live my my grandparetns and they are always begging me to get out of my room and off the computer, but I simply tell them that this is where im comfortable! but I try to do something with them once a week to show them I can be with people, I just choose not to, and they have backed off! you don't have to fake anything! be yourself and if that means your an introvert like myself, then so be it! embrace it! I kno its hard for others to understand because their not in this situation, but it will get better, I hope this helps!

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daryent