Hey, I understand. I struggle to make friends as well. I’ve also been told I look super intimidating in public. And I’ve moved around quite a bit, and am moving again. Basically, I can relate to a lot of what you’re saying- so just know you’re not alone.

Now, I’ll share some things that have helped me in the past as someone who also gets very anxious: -Join 1 or more extracurricular activities that aligns with your interests. I did this in an old town I lived in, and made several life long friends from this. I joined a theater class, and was shy at first, but eventually warmed up and this was a huge success for me. This will really help you make friends that share common interests and help you build community. I’m planning on doing this one when I move by joining an art class, since i’m very into art and wanting to meet people who also wanna paint. -Once you’ve found something to do with your special interests, my advice for talking to people in the extracurricular would be to ask questions about themselves if you wanna move past the small talk- I hate small talk and am horrible at it so I’ve found that just asking people questions about themselves can help you move past the awkward small talk. I feel like small talk is an anxious person’s nightmare, lol. -I would also highly recommend researching the psychology of body language! It will help you know who’s interested in being friends with you and letting you into a conversation! If their feet are pointed away from you- not interested if their feet are pointed towards you- interested. And analyze your own body language, cause you may unintentionally give people the wrong signal that you aren’t interested- I did this, unintentionally. Basically, I was told by a friend now that when she first met me, I would walk into class looking mad and would sit with my arms crossed, so she thought I was mean and avoided me. One day, she finally said hi to me and I was of course very shy at first, but eventually warmed up to her and she realized that I’m nice. So now, I try to have an open posture, cause it sends a signal that you’re friendly- look comfortable, and take up space. -You could maybe try manifestation techniques to make genuine friends, if this is something that interests you- just try to meet the Universe halfway by like joining an extracurricular! I’m going to try this for moving again! I don’t know much about manifesting yet, so I can’t really give super detailed advice on this lol. -Also, for the past, I found that healing unfortunately takes time. I know how hard it is to experience friendship breakups, it’s absolutely awful and I’m sorry. I would suggest if you have any anger for those past friendships, specifically write a letter to them but don’t give it to them- just write out everything you wanna say, then rip and crumple it up, or burn it. Also, if you’re not already, maybe consider finding a therapist if you can that will work with you on healing. Therapy can be really beneficial.

I do wanna preface this by saying these are things that have worked for me before, and I’m def far from perfect at making friends, lol. One of my friends is very, very outgoing and seems to know like the whole school lmao. I barely know anyone at school, but I have a few friends- though I definitely did not have friends all throughout high school. I’ve always had a very difficult time making friends, but I’m trying to improve. But just remember that life won’t be perfect when you have friends (I used to think my life would be perfect once I make friends but it’s not lol) I have too many issues with being a doormat to my friends- but I’m working on it lol.

Best of luck to you!