Making new friend when depressed

Depression studies have shown that extroversion staves off depression faster than any behavioral method. It sounds odd and impossible making friends will be your best bet. Difficult life situations make seeing life in a different life nearly impossible, but your behavior will change your affect if you stick with it. Instead of addressing issues singularly, try attack multiples with certain activities. Also try new things.

Making friends isn't easy, but it's not impossible. If you find yourself inside a lot, just get outside. Go the the mall, walk around, check out shops, strike up conversations with the employees. Go to the park, dress casual and try not to look creepy, but just hang out and enjoy the sun on your face. Finding those who share interests is the easiest way. Play online games? Make online friends in those games. Coworkers show interest in certain music? Talk to them about it, and find out their other interests. 

The more practice you have with socialization, the easier talking to people will become. Once you've become comfortable talking to people, then making friends will be the next hurdle. Setting up times to hang out and finding activities of shared interest consistently is conducive to maintaining a friendship.

We all choose our friends, as much as they choose us. If you don't feel comfortable around someone, then it would be counterproductive to maintain a relationship with them. All relationships require work, as they don't simply just happen and continue. Take it one step at a time, and try not to rush it.

If you smoke, then finding others who smoke may benefit you as it is a shared interest. I made acquaintances in college because I smoked then. No shame in it. Just avoid people with serious drug problem or if they are into harder drugs than you would like to be a part of. Druggies are one issue, but pot users aren't inherently evil. 

If that matters

Ever come to the realization that all your friends are really just pretty stupid, with whom you really have nothing much in common, but you only keep hanging around with them because you don't bother trying to find new friends? I don't particularly care about the intelligence of people I associate with, as long as they are capable of carrying out a reasonable conversation and such. I don't feel like that that's the only determining factor in a person.

A few of my friends are really smart, often smarter than me, but a lot of them really don't think. I have come to realize over last two years that all my current friends are either seriously crazy (they are all manic or have stress disorder or some shit) or are just simply not fun people to be around. At the same time, I can't avoid them if I find them too annoying. It's far easier to keep them as friends than make enemies because women are real bitches when you stop wanting to hang out.

I don't trust them much anymore and I am trying to figure out how to make friends. I don't really know what to do about this, seeking new friends can be like dating takes time and I tend to fuck up a lot before something good happens. I have started to notice that about most of my friends lately. Shit sucks... I have practically nothing in common with any of them...