Everyone keeps telling me I'm a wonderful friend, that they care about me, that they love having me around. But somehow, every compliment feels like a hidden mockery, like words I'm supposed to believe but can't. Instead of comfort, they turn into questions. My mind takes them apart until they sound more like a cruel joke than kindness. Maybe it's the overthinking. Maybe it's me. I replay conversations, analyze every glance, every word, every silence, until I'm exhausted by my own thoughts. And no matter how much reassurance I hear, I can't shake the feeling that I'm disappointing everyone, that I'm never quite enough. It's strange how lonely a person can feel while being surrounded by people who say they care. I'm scared to let my real self show. Scared that if my friends knew what was really going on inside my head, they'd judge me differently, look at me differently, or leave altogether. So I smile, I thank them, and I pretend I believe them. But lately, I've been wondering how much of me is left beneath all the doubt. I feel like I'm losing myself in a life that doesn't really care.