Anxiety about living alone

[hurley21]

I have been living with either a parent, friend or boyfriend my entire life. I'm 26 years old and am faced with living in an apartment by myself for the first time. The idea is terrifying. Not having someone there to care for me when I'm sick, being alone at night, etc. I am anxious to the point of panic. Anyone else experience this and have any tips?

[Cee]

I often sleep with the living room light on when I move to a new place. I don't care if it's childish. It helps me feel more comfortable.

 

Try to move somewhere with excellent security. I have steel doors and bars on my windows, so I feel very safe at home.

 

Good luck and enjoy your new adventure. If you can stick it out for a month or two, I promise that you will love living alone. The freedom is amazing. And you will learn that you can take care of yourself, even with a problem in the apartment or running a fever.

 

If you are having panic attacks, then you might want to talk to a counselor. Panic attacks can be debilitating and hard to get over by will power alone.

[smudge21]

I remember those days - you will get used to it and start to see the positives. It is tough at first, I remember when I first moved into a rented flat after leaving the family home. Everything was so foriegn and I never thought I'd get used to it. I actually cried that first night, but then started to get friends round occasionally and slowly made it a home - filled it with things that were personal to me. Best of all, I still had my pet cat for company.

 

Things will get better and you will start to enjoy the freedom you have.

[Badenov]

I always lived with a girlfriend or a roomate until I was 33. You need to stress the other side of the coin: no one to answer to. Eat what & when you want. Watch whatever you want on TV. Throw your dirty clothes on the floor. Don't do the dishes for a few days. Hang stuff on the wall you know your ex would hate. Live it up. Think of it as YOUR place, no one else's.

 

Think about getting a pet. Even a fish is something you have to take care of. It helps with lonliness & reminds you you're not helpless.

[coolheadal]

Get a pet like a dog or cat. Get something you can talk too. This helps. You have a PC there use it to talk to people. Make new friends. Keep busy.

[witheredandfading]

I know exactly what you're feeling. I've never lived alone until now, i'm almost 25 and when my partner left 4 months ago i was suddenly left in a flat on my own, with my family an hour away and hardly any friends to see. I only work with people a couple of days a week, the rest of the time I work alone.

 

It took a while for me to be able to sleep without the tv on, or to sleep without crying my eyes out but it does happen eventually. I found talking online with people helped a lot, finding people in the same boat. Also a good idea to try some hobbies to make new friends and generally put yourself out there.

 

It will slowly get easier to deal with, perhaps try to find some calming techniques you can use when you feel yourself getting anxious. Do you have somewhere you can go, like the parents if you feel things get really bad?

[Sassygirl2]

I was terrified of living alone too. After being married for 20 years it was the hardest thing to get used to. I have two kids but I only have them half of the week so the other nights and weekends can get lonely. My exbf and I used to spend these nights together at his place or mine (when we didn't have kids). I have actually started to enjoy having the nights to myself after 4 weeks. I can do anything I want. I can get into by pj's at 7pm and watch a movie or take my dog for a walk. I don't "have" to make plans every night as to what I'm doing with "him" or "what" we are doing. It was horrible at first because I missed him so much but now I feel a sense of relief. I have time for myself and that is the person that needs me right now. Be good to yourself. Love yourself. You will feel better soon. Promise.