Finding real friendships as an adult can be incredibly challenging.

This man has social anxiety and keeps attracting the wrong kind of people who only take advantage of his kindness.

One woman he trusted even pretended to be his friend just to get him to pay for things.

But when he stopped being generous, she spread lies about him.

Check out the full story below for all the details.

I basically have to pay to have friends because I can’t make connections otherwise.

I’m in my mid to late 20s. I grew up mostly by myself.

As an adult, I’m extremely timid and have poor social skills.

I’m in therapy, but I’m not seeing a ton of results.

I’m pretty financially successful.

But I’m also extremely sensitive, gullible, and very susceptible to peer pressure.

This man often fails at making connections and building relationships.

I’ve tried experimenting by introducing myself to different groups.

Often times, they fall through over time.

I also tend to be very subservient.

When I do find anyone who shows me any interest, I put them on pedestals and over-invest into them.

This often puts people off, or they take advantage of it.

Meet Sarah…

The most recent example is someone we’ll call Sarah.

She later admitted she was only pretending to be my friend because I was paying for her stuff.

I considered her a close platonic friend.

But in hindsight, she would complain endlessly about her financial problems until I offered to help her out.

I didn’t see it as a sugaring thing. I just naively saw it as helping my platonic friend out.

When he stopped helping her, Sarah spread false rumors about him.

I finally put my foot down, and she started spreading false accusations against me.

It got me thinking recently that this happens to me a lot.

Bad actors pretend to be friends and take advantage of me.

If I ever put my foot down, they excommunicate me from those circles entirely.

He knows it’s pathetic, but he doesn’t know how else to deal with it.

I know how pathetic that must sound.

But the harsh truth is I’m just not cool or funny or smart enough to make earnest connections.

The only alternative is me being alone.

Basically, I’m stuck as an example of “money doesn’t make you happy.”

And I don’t know what to do about it. 😔

Let’s see how others reacted to this.

This person suggests getting a pet.

Here’s a sweet and sincere message.

This user offers useful advice.

This one makes a valid point.

Finally, change up your energy a little, says this one.

You can’t buy real friendships.

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