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I've recently started opening up to more people about this in my personal life. Like many others on here, I've worked remote now since March 2020, and the lack

I've recently started opening up to more people about this in my personal life. Like many others on here, I've worked remote now since March 2020, and the lack of interpersonal interaction with others during my work days has taken a great personal toll. I still go out with my significant other and see other people as well when we go out, but I've found it really hard to get meaning out of work when I don't see people. That, coupled with a move to a new city (to be closer to outdoor activities), has meant that I've struggled with feelings of loneliness. I think part of the problem is that admitting this type of feeling is seen as personal weakness in men but perfectly acceptable for a woman to talk about. When men say they're lonely, it's often hard to find other men to talk about it with. I know that I'll get out of it because I'm pretty extroverted, but just thought I'd give my personal (and recent) experience with what this article is talking about.

lystlaunt 5y ago
This is interesting to read as I'm pretty introverted, so I've taken the opposite approach. I avoid talking about it because I expect to be treated differently in a negative way by work colleagues if I admit it, and I don't know many people close enough outside of a work context to speak about it. My approach, which is fairly effective at causing happiness, is to start by finding joy in solitary activities, versus seeking friends. I really like reading classic books, film, and music. I don't expect to make a close friend like I did in my youth, and I also prefer not to, because I felt like my former best friend took advantage of the fact that I wouldn't have any close connections left if he left, and treated me in a way that made my life worse for a while until I ended things. So, I figure there are worse things than being alone. If anything, I'm treat relationships with significant others as best friend relationships with intimacy. Otherwise, I have healthy working relationships work colleagues, but I don't expect to make friends like in high school, and I'm usually pretty happy trying to better myself mostly on my own. Charles Bukowski's poem comes to mind: there are worse things than being alone but it often takes decades to realize this and most often when you do it's too late and there's nothing worse than too late
entropyie 5y ago
Renting a coworking desk helped my morale after a year of working at home. Even a cafe once a week could help.

lystlaunt 5y ago

This is interesting to read as I'm pretty introverted, so I've taken the opposite approach. I avoid talking about it because I expect to be treated differently in a negative way by work colleagues if I admit it, and I don't know many people close enough outside of a work context to speak about it. My approach, which is fairly effective at causing happiness, is to start by finding joy in solitary activities, versus seeking friends. I really like reading classic books, film, and music. I don't expect to make a close friend like I did in my youth, and I also prefer not to, because I felt like my former best friend took advantage of the fact that I wouldn't have any close connections left if he left, and treated me in a way that made my life worse for a while until I ended things. So, I figure there are worse things than being alone. If anything, I'm treat relationships with significant others as best friend relationships with intimacy. Otherwise, I have healthy working relationships work colleagues, but I don't expect to make friends like in high school, and I'm usually pretty happy trying to better myself mostly on my own. Charles Bukowski's poem comes to mind: there are worse things than being alone but it often takes decades to realize this and most often when you do it's too late and there's nothing worse than too late

entropyie 5y ago

Renting a coworking desk helped my morale after a year of working at home. Even a cafe once a week could help.