I feel like people only like me when I’m not doing well

I don’t know if this is me being egocentric or just perceptive, but I feel like people around me get resentful of me really easily.

It’s not like I think I’m better than anyone, I genuinely don’t! But every time something good happens in my life, it feels like it makes other people uncomfortable somehow.

When I went on an exchange program, for example, people at college started spreading rumors that I was “starving in Europe” or that I never left Germany to travel anywhere because I didn’t post anything on Instagram.

One girl I actually thought was my friend even joked to my face suggesting I was prostituting myself, which honestly hurt a lot. I just don’t like posting my life online. I don’t like people knowing what I’m doing.

Then when I started dating someone, a few friends distanced themselves or started making comments to make me feel bad or guilty; and suggesting he's toxic to me (he really isn't).

The worst part is that it’s always disguised as a joke: a comment about my looks, a sarcastic remark about something I achieved, or a “funny” comparison that diminishes me and brings me down. But you can feel it. It’s like their way of putting me “back in my place.”

I really try to be discreet, kind, and grounded. I don’t show off, I don’t brag, I don’t try to prove anything. I get genuinely happy when my friends achieve something.

I celebrate them the way I’d like to be celebrated. I know that someone else’s success doesn’t take away from mine.

I don’t want to believe I don’t have real friends, but sometimes it feels like people only like me until I start being >too< happy, like my happiness somehow bothers them.

This isn’t me complaining about life, I’m actually really grateful for everything. It just makes me sad to realize that no matter how easygoing or humble I try to be, there will always be someone who wants to bring me down just to feel better about themselves.