I was part of a new group of friends who had all met at the same time – about five couples. We had all been hanging out for the past two years, on and off. Recently, they all planned a trip to the beach together with all their families and we were the only ones not asked to go. I saw a picture of them on Instagram and immediately felt a sense of rejection and hurt, even though I’ve known they were going for a few months now.

I am sulking and it is affecting my present mood, so much so that I feel like I can’t enjoy my day. It’s a beautiful weekend here but I feel like I have this dark cloud over my head. The thoughts are “we don’t have any close friends, people don’t like us, we don’t fit it” and the feeling is rejection, lonely, insecure.