Divorced, the mother of two adult children, Cynthia left the rural community where she had lived for many years for life in the Boston area.
At first she lived in a studio apartment by herself. It was a tiny apartment. She says, it was “so depressing, so isolating, so lonely. I came from a really active life with two children, an active business, dogs and cats. Living by myself was so quiet. It became harder and harder to go out and do stuff. The loneliness feeds on itself. I started to get really hard on myself, really down. I actually started eating frozen dinners. I’d never done that before. It’s just hard to cook for one person. I used to love inviting guests to my house and cooking meals. The apartment was tiny and I tried to keep it neat but within moments it would get disorganized since the same space served as my office, kitchen bedroom and bathroom and coat closet. It wasn’t a good place for having friends visit. [click to continue…]
Is Living Alone Making You Lonely?
It is so easy in our society to be alone, to be left alone. Single adults who live alone can easily spend whole days, whole weekends, without talking to anyone more meaningful than a store cashier. This is particularly true for those who don’t go to a workplace: retirees, disabled, the self-employed and the unemployed. [...]