<human>: Hello all. I'll try to keep this short.

Most ladies will understand, it's hard for us when it comes to friendship. Women are constantly sizing each other up and becoming instantly competitive with each other (at least, around here).

And although it was a couple years ago, I'm still shaken up about something that happened. My "best friend" of 14 years quit talking to me and said some really shitty things (calling me a bad mom, a weird anti-social freak, etc.) all because I was trying to help her break it off with her loser, pill-popping, deadbeat dad of a b/f who stole from us. I haven't talked to her since, and I still think about her once in a while, but it just hurts. Someone who was there through the hardest times for me did a complete 180 and used everything she knew to hurt me.

I haven't made new friends since, except a couple people I used to work with. My self-esteem is just gone. I never feel like I'll be good enough for anyone, and I always assume everyone will have a dark side and immediately turn on me.

I know someone will say, "get over it, it's in the past". And I'm really trying. But I want to know how to let my guard down until then. I used to have so many circles. Now I have a couple good friends, but most of the time I still feel completely friendless, and very lonely while my SO is at work and the kids are gone. I don't want to be a lonely 23 year old. ):

Summarize the given text in a few sentences.
<bot>: How do you drop your guard to let people in after you've been hurt? How do you meet new people and become friends without coming off as weird/desperate/creepy?