Thanks to chronic illness I spend a lot of time at home. Since I live alone, that means that I spend a lot of time alone. Usually I manage this ok, but lately that hasn’t been the case.
In recent months I have been feeling better, which is great! The thing is, as I feel better, I want to do more. But my brain is still way ahead of my body in terms of what I can do. On top of that, what is there to do? My friends are almost all at work on weekdays. At night they are tired and with their families. I used to go out with friends on weekends, but now they are busy with family activities. This is doubly hard for me, because I wanted to have a family of my own. I always assumed that at this point of my life, like my friends, I would be spending more time with a spouse and children. Instead, I am alone.
My days feel empty. I have fewer medical appointments, but that also means I have less to get me out of the house. There is an unending list of things that I can do at home. I have personal projects to work on, closets to clean out, emails to answer, meals to cook. There’s always something. But that doesn’t help the lonliness. Instead, I wander around my small apartment feeling the lack of companionship.
Being single for so long, I have gotten good at going to activities on my own. Still, I don’t always want to do that. It’s more fun to go with a friend. I go to parties alone, I go to concerts alone, I go to book readings alone, I go for walks in the woods alone and you know what? It gets lonely.
On top of that, there aren’t many activities to fill up my days. Most weekday activities are aimed at children, adults with children, or senior citizens. I don’t fit into any of those categories. Most people my age who are around during the day are new moms, and plenty of groups exist for them. For non-parents my age, I haven’t found much. My mother is always busy with one thing or another. I’m jealous. There’s a lot available for retirees. But that’s not for me, either.
This has been bothering me more in the past month than usual, and has come up multiple times in my therapy sessions. That was before the spread of coronavirus and Covid-19. Now I am home even more than I had been before. Events are getting cancelled, even the smaller ones. The few that are still happening just don’t feel like good places for me to be. I was looking forward to a small gathering today, but a couple of people who will be there were travelling this week, and since I am in the high risk category, I’m better off staying home. I want to be around people, but I can’t risk it.
So I am sitting in my apartment typing this. I have not been out of the house today. I may take a walk later, but that is a solitary activity. Tomorrow I will get out of the house, at least. I will go to therapy. It’s not exciting, but at least I will have a face-to-face conversation with someone.
There’s no easy answer to this. It is not the first time that I have felt that way, but I don’t remember how I got out of it before. I suppose I just need to give myself time. Meanwhile, more people are about to learn for the first time in their lives what it’s like to be stuck at home. I just wish we could do it together.
