Loners

"I even get the heebie-jeebies when I am with a friend for any length of time. Note my use of the word friend here, although there are a very few people I would call 'friend' and I would miss them dearly should they be gone from my life, I find it very difficult to be around them for longer than about an hour before I start looking for an exit."

True for me too, and it's always seemed weird to me, and I always wondered - do other people feel this way.

I think some of us are born with a predisposition to be lonely, or to prefer aloneness, or extra sensitive, or however one wants to name it. And formative experiences may bring this trait out in abundance or it may not emerge.

I think more important is how to live with it. And if one is happy being this way - no problem. For me, sometimes being this way is crippling, other times it is just "how I am" and I am ok with it.
and I do find, as one poster mentioned meditation - I find this very important.
Someone defined meditation as the "art of being friends with yourself".
I find that the more I meditate, the calmer I am, and that meditation is a way of gaining self-acceptance.
--- and I am not a big meditator-- 10 minutes here and there thru out the day.

I also find as Taiter Tots said:
"Almost no one wants to talk about/do the stuff
That I like talking about/doing. Almost no one knows enough about it to have a meaningful discussion."

example, my lunch group was having a thrilling {to them, not to me} conversation about TV.
I waited for a moment to enter the conversation and remark that I had seen a fascinating PBS show with Christian Parenti about how climate change impacts world politics - ie the creation of Isis, and the fall of Arab rulers during the Arab Spring.
I can still see the faces turned to me -- silence-- not a question,, not 'tell me about it',, or 'hmm, that sounds interesting',,, SILENCE.
As if I had suddenly started talking in tongues...