I don't.
The longer I spend around someone the more uncomfortable I am. When I started my job I was just fairly quiet, now I don't talk at all unless somebody talks to me.

When I've established they're not an arsehole.

I have body tests with people:

Do they accept hugs?
Are they shy when you nuzzle them?
Are they violent when you try to show affection?
Do they speak harshly or threaten violence?

Simple things regulate my comfort level.

After I've hung out with them or have talked to them online for a few says. I lose comfort easily though since I get paranoid easily.

Once I know they can keep their word. I've always been bothered by the fact that others will give you their word to appear nice/likeable, but then will later evaluate Your worth to Them before they commit to keeping it.

I can be trusted! Let's be friends!

I think that's quite true Tricky. I'm being reminded this week at some of the small lies people will tell to make things alright. Forthrightness isn't all too common in some people. I'm now a better judge of those I can put my trust in, I think. And those who pay no mind to telling me small lies, I won't be surprised at the big lies they try to dish, too.

I'm the same way as you, Dr Toxicophilous. Except for one person-- my vocational specialist. I still get anxious when I have to see her a lot of times, but I'm still way more comfortable around her than I am around anyone else except for my mom. It took probably a year or longer, but she's such a nice, good person, that I eventually became more comfortable with her.

I don't know what it is exactly. Some people I feel comfortable with from the start (but that's rare) and with some people it takes a long time and sometimes it never happens.

It takes weeks of being around them to act like myself.

As soon as they demonstrate genuine interest in something I am passionate about.

After a long, long time.

About 10 years.

After about 5 or 6 pints. Drunkenness is about the only thing that makes me feel comfortable around my fellow meatbags.

Plus if people get to know me they'll find out what an absolute and complete loser I am.

I start getting more comfortable with people when I talk to them more. Talking seems to be my way of connecting to someone on a more personal level.

I'm o.k. once I know someone for awhile, and I know they'll not reject me.

I'm never comfortable around people. Everyone has some sort of ulterior motive and its just a disguise that they use to get what they want.

There was a saying from some movie that I don't remember. It goes something like: A human's biggest natural predator is other humans.

Once I begin to trust the person... That, however, takes an eternity..
Even though I am not comfortable with whomever.. I still act very friendly.. So there's no harm..

On the other hand... If someone tries to get too close to me too fast.. For instance.. I have just met an individual.. And they're going into my personal space, asking me personal questions, or wanting to spend lots of time with me immediately.. Those actions push me away drastically and I no longer want to even speak to the person..

I've only had maybe only one or two friends who I could be 100% comfortable around. Most of my friends were (yes, were - I no longer have friends in person, only online friends) totally unpredictable. I absolutely despise people who're unpredictable in bad ways.

I'm pretty sure that I'd become comfortable around you guys rather quickly, especially people who I talk to often like Rezu, SoullessHuman, !!!, Reanimator, Noriko, and Dreaming.

Never. I'll always have some kind of suspicion that will make me push them away, or make me do something wrong.

I always considered someone a friend up until they said something that betrayed the truth about their actual opinion of my intelligence (i.e. when they spoke down to me, then tried to deny that that's what they were doing). After that I'd distance myself from them.

I'd get to know someone, get along with them like we were equals, thinking they' were okay; but then would come that inevitable 'now it's out' moment, and I'd realize that the whole thing was a damn lie all along.

I have yet to meet anyone who has failed to disappointment me in that manner, so I just presume up front that they think I'm an idiot, and I don't wait for the moment to come when they make it plain that they do (such as the first time they speak to me as if I had the mind of a five-year-old). That way I never get caught by surprise by it anymore.

I never get comfortable with anyone, because I learned not to trust them before most of you children were even born.

So instead, these years I just go on the internet to tell people how much I hate people.

This post is going to get me blocked by everybody. (I miss the days before that feature existed.)

I know you have many years of experience over me, Neilwebratz, but I can't help feeling disturbed at the the slight hypocrisy of this statement, 'I never get comfortable with anyone, because I learned not to trust them before most of you children were even born.' Have you not just reduced the entire board to the state of low intellect that you said was the reason you can't be comfortable with other people anymore? Whenever I see a statement like that I feel condescended to, even when it isn't personal. I don't feel I've done anything to warrant your disdain, even if it's just in a general sense. I apologise if I've misconscrued the idea you were putting forward, but you paired your thoughts of being demeaned in the sense of possessing a childish intellect and then turned that label outward to anyone that might reply.

I'm debating even sharing my opinion with you because you only have 5 posts and I don't feel its particularly fair to be confrontational before I get chance to learn about your personality a little more. I guess I'm more inclined to because I've seen somebody else post similar sentiments and I find it unfair because I feel the level of intelligence here is certainly higher than average.

I didn't mean it to sound that way. I just spend too much time inside my head, I suppose, and was just venting out loud. I'm different, I'll admit. But it just frustrates the hell out of me that people can't seem to take a hint that I'm not an inferior being (I'm a college graduate, for Christ's sake) just because of this.

I can understand that and I hope I didn't come across as overtly critical either. I'm really sensitive about people having a low opinion about me too.