On the other side, I notice that when I’m meeting up with friends, we sometimes get focused so much on the game, that we don’t really talk anymore about things going on in our lives. Sometimes that’s good, but if you are a person that finds it difficult to talk and focus on a game at the same time, it can be kinda frustrating.

I think the best option I’ve found is just volunteering in your neighbourhood and asking the people there if they go to any groups or want to do something together

Meetup used to be great, but seems to be enshittifying more with every passing day.

Are there good alternatives or other ways to find groups to join?

Awareness is only one part of mindfulness, you already got that, which is great.

The other part is equanimity, being aware of things, but not reacting or judging.

When you practice mindfulness, try to set a time goal of how long you want to do it and stick to it no matter what. If there are suddenly loud noises, or you suddenly feel very hungry, or you suddenly remember something important for work, just stick with the time you set. It’ll get easier over time.

Doing it frequently definitely helps with hyper-vigilance and being overly aware of things.

If you’re still interested to try and meet people, I would suggest still trying to meet up or go to locations with a bunch of people and check yourself.

How do you feel there, what do you notice, what makes you feel tired?

Very often you’ll find yourself overly alert, overly self concious, or simply not used to the experience. These all drain energy.

Try again and notice if it changes. Keep trying.

There are still people out there which aren’t zombified yet. And it’s still worth the effort to try and seek them out.

How would you even do this? Hilarious though.