Hi everyone. I am 51 year old male, and I don't need the whole world of friends, I just need one intimate and understanding friend. But this has been a huge problem, particularly because I am a migrant from Russia, and I find myself very different to the way other people think and talk. I have lived in Sydney for more than 20 years and practically made no friends, just brief and superficial acquaintances. Our community in Sydney is small and dispersed, and I rarely meet other Russians. But when I do, I feel how difficult it is to make connection even with people from your own background. I have been to many meetups, and I have a lot of hobbies. But my experience of these meetups is always the same: you come as a stranger, and you leave as a stranger.
I also have no family in Australia, only my 12 yo daughter from my previous marriage.
On top of all that, I have episodes of severe depression and anxiety which mostly attack me at times of insecurity and stress. The reason I am writing this post is because I am right in the middle if such an episode.
