Is anyone else getting used to having little to no contact with people?

Loving the minimal contact with others as well.

A couple of weeks ago, I had lunch with a friend on a Friday afternoon. I then went grocery shopping as there was a winter storm headed this way.

After I got home, I stayed in my place until the following Wednesday, never once leaving for any reason, or seeing anyone. It was heaven.

I think between 12/26/20 and 1/4/21 I left my house once to go to take my cat to the vet for his annual checkup.

"Interpersonal relationships" are highly overrated.

I’ve gotten used to it and am starting to prefer it as well. The thing I really do not miss is having to make annoying small talk with co-workers. I get so much more done working from home. And I can take a little nap during the day if I feel like I need one (which I always wished I could do at work).

Covid has really exposed the pointlessness of “cubicle life.”

I am perfectly happy with minimal contact with the outside world. A dog is the only missing ingredient in my mix, and I plan to remedy that soon.

Well, after all these years I'm finally watching the entire series of The Golden Girls (on hulu)...while being paid. :)

Ok. I'll be 100% honest. I have a partner together almost 20 years. I'm in the public eye every now and then. I used to be in the tabloids with my best friend/co star. No one really knew about my sex life. I had to figure it out in the late 90s. Sorry if I'm making this about sex but, We have always has a very active sex life in our mid 40s. I also have everything on hold as the courts are closed. I'm furious with my money grubbing step sisters and steb brother. So, I guess it's frustrarting, smoking pot, I seriously cut the cable and use firestick. I watch porn... I have been bottoming lately. Not exactly my scene. We are both hung a bit more than average. I've been getting fucked as if i was the top. I fuck my ass on his dick. Its crazy. I've gone stir crazy. Fucking around. Poor Texas. I was bummed Ii wasn't in my place in Los Angeles but here In Beacon Hill is perfect. Fuck Ted cruz. Ted Cruz reminds me of Aunt Roberta's friend Ida. Fucking dick. He still has orange on his chin.

Love it.

I'm used to being by myself, usually. Yesterday was a beautiful day, sunny and warmed up a little. I had go out and do something, so I stopped at a local coffee shop and got my coffee, sat on their porch. The people inside the shop were very friendly and talkative. I went for a little walk, and a woman across the street waved and said "hello" to me. It was nice. That usually doesn't happen. I made me feel good and was uplifting. Being cooped up, just the little niceties was welcoming and it surprised me in how much better my depressed mood lifted.

I also love the limited contact. Though I have moderate to severe social anxiety so I feel it’s going to be a rough reentry once things get closer to “normal”

I left the house for the first time in months to go to the pharmacy and got a bit nasty with one of the employees (who, in my defense, was quite rude and incompetent), which is so unlike me. I always try to be pleasant and appreciative of the fact that these people provide a service to us, especially now during COVID. I realized that I need to learn to interact with other human beings outside of my household again, and that I couldn't wait to get back home to be away from the world.

Being an introvert, I always had to weigh my words and try to fit in, sort of. For people like me, it'll be an exercise of starting over again, in getting back into social situations.

Same here. Hubby and I are both working from home at the moment, but we have our own spaces for doing that so we are pretty much isolated from each other during most of the day, and outside of work hours it's just the two of us doing couple things, and couple-with-dogs things. Occasional phone calls or zoom calls with family and friends but not a whole lot else, and we love it.

Here in the UK there is a tentative plan to begin gradually easing restrictions from 8th March, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

r10 Same here. I feel like I've lost social skills. I stutter, I kind of forget what i'm lookin for and when the clerk comes to help i forget and I try to describe what i'm look for. That mask thing also makes me feel like I"m smothering. I'll be honest. I was raised by my grandmother but, I pretty normal except the smothering thing. Figures. I was an actor and pretty good....actually really good at hiding anxiety but the mask makes me sweat and I'm practically running for the door limping becasue I just got a cast off my foot and should be in physical therapy....Don'y worry. Everbody's is doing the best they can....and the onrs that aren't doing the best they can just beat the shit out of DC...and they are in jail. this is the lage of fucking losers.

I like it! I never realized how stressful and unproductive office life is. I just learned I can work remotely forever. So happy! It's amazing how quickly colleagues become unimportant to you when you don't see them daily. Feel like I can actually focus on work instead of political office crap.

No.

I'm a natural introvert. I tend to only cope well with one significant social event per week, maybe even two weeks, and I want a day of cooldown after. (Its not just a social anxiety; I can go all weekend but its just tiring.) I feel most energized when I'm alone for a while then optionally have a sweet activity with one to a few people, allowed to process that time alone afterwards.

2020 is been a relief in this way. Since I live with my partner (at least over 1/2 the week) I still get that socializing, and there's on-and-off virtual hangouts/gaming and the very limited in-person. Its the best state for me... at least supposedly.

This winter, aside from some off-topic distressing things, has me in the best winter mood I've had in a long time! It feels like my head is clearing and I like the quiet even more than earlier.

But I'm done. I'm starting to exercise more, but I want to do it with others. I'm starting to reconnect with college friends in town, but I want to do it in person. I'm starting to have increased libido, but I want to explore it physically (we're open) instead of just fantasies. I'm out on trips/walks, but I even want some obligation to do so like traveling to work. I've liked my time, but at least temporarily, I feel I'm building up something of an extraversion. I think of concepts like addressing a crowd and instead of dreading it, its a pleasant idea. I think of my worry of others judging my clothes, and now I don't give a shit and just want to be confident. I think I've gained social skills, if anything, because I'm overthinking it less.

Ultimately, I think I'm still a (vers) introvert, and that a lot of shifts that came with 2020 need to serve as good lessons instead of tossed out as only emergency measures. But I'll be happy to meet more people again, make fun and mistakes with them, and be less critical about my performance and less exhausted with my efforts. Just let us work at home more when the job allows, let us pop in for a quick virtual meeting when there's little reason for an in-person session of nothing, be understanding when someone doesn't want to join the big upcoming event, etc.

"The highs aren't high, but the lows aren't low." - For me, most of 2020 was that, but now I'm shifting to my my highs being higher (emotionally) and my lows being lower (situationally). This year may have stunted me in some ways, I suppose, but its stunted in the way of a supposedly unproductive but actually enlightening retreat goes. I'm not going to angst about how I look and feel at the beach, I'm just going to go. I'm not going to worry about others judging me when I'm reaching out to them, fuck them if they don't like me, but lets go enjoy each other if they really do like me! I'll go to big things, just aware I can dip out at any time. Its good.

Truthfully, I sort of love it. Granted, I have a partner and a dog and drive to visit with my mom or a few select friends every now and then, but not being in crowded spaces with annoying people has been lovely.

I was born for this shit.

r4 Instead of a dog, you should get a cat. Trust me, your neighbors will appreciate it.

R18: My beloved little dog died over a year ago, and I'm finally ready to open heart and hearth to another. He was very popular among my neighbors.

Peace.

I hate it and it’s wearing me down mentally, even though I’m an introvert and normally am a homebody.

I was born for this shit, or so I thought, but it turns out that Covid has shown me how much I miss interaction.

I've worked from home for many years and love that. But spending 8 or 10 hours a day at my desk, and the pleasure mostly sucked out of leaving the house for midday errands or just a long walk. And the switch from day to night has no much punctuation than moving to a different set of rooms.

All the masking up and maintaining distances and seeing in the fewer people out a look of guardedness and general unease has worn me down.

I have a small circle of friends with whom I socialize and relax, mostly, but the sense that the world isn't right is always there, hanging in the air. I'm weary from the distant nods and social negotiations when I do meet someone. It's not natural to do awkward little bows or retarded elbow bumps in a place where people greet social acquaintances with kisses and hugs.

I will always enjoy my recharge/relax times alone, but I didn't realize how much I would miss seeing not just friends but making new ones, seeing throngs of people in the streets at ease. I'm not a misanthrope who enjoys being removed from people, who bristles at interaction, and whose highlight of a day is a good scold; and I think after this I will take more pains to avoid them.

I was not good when the world was “normal” but have improved mentally by leaps and bounds since the pandemic.

Am I needed here?

I'm handling it, but miss interacting.

And we moved to a new place....wishing I could actually meet people in the neighborhood more than a distant wave.

Great question. Yes, I'm getting used to spending a lot of time by myself (and don't really mind it) but the amount of wine I'm consuming is concerning!

It’ll be really sad to go back to the way it was. That thought depresses me.

I have always preferred social distancing. Too many assholes out there.

Way too many.

it takes a toll.

I love Miss Peanut 🧡

Ditto, R30. 😉

...and I'm also watching the entire series of Designing Women (hulu) for the first time ever...while being paid. :)

I always found office small talk or forced socialising with colleagues painful (‘Susan is leaving us today for a year to shit out her fourth kid so let’s all go for lunch!!!’) so don’t miss that but I think your comment OP that the highs aren’t high and the lows aren’t low sums up why this as a permanent state isn’t good. I still want the high highs of life even if there are low lows that go with them. And you only get that with other people or with experiences a lot of us aren’t able to do with the current restrictions (e.g. travel)

Leading the life of a depressive recluse since 2014, it’s been a relief to have everyone down on my level. I feel less stigmatised, less like an agoraphobic freak. That said, now I’m finding it’s crowded, and that more folks are out and about during the day at the park or the store etc., which bugs. Ready for everyone else to piss off back to their 9-5s now, tbh.

Would also have enjoyed the time more if I hadn’t been made redundant then kicked out of the family fold in early 2020, to go and care for my grandmother at her place. But, hey—cheap rent is cheap rent, and where I’m living is safe and spacious enough to walk my dog without seeing too many people, so I can’t bitch too much.

Didnt Freud say we need to interact with 6 people a day for mental health? And I don't think he meant interacting online!

I’m not. I always thought I was shy but even I severely miss talking with other people. I’m going crazy!

I was thriving last winter/spring when all of it started. I was already working from home one day each week, so it wasn't some huge adjustment.

I would say that since October or so, every place that I've been in my town has been packed. People are wearing masks but it's as close to normal as it used to be. That irritates me in a way.

Live alone, comfortable/happy with my own company. It was so nice being able to walk around with few people in the stores that were allowed to be open, in the streets and on pub transport, far less traffic. Now that movement restrictions are being eased and all stores are reopening, the mobs and traffic jams have returned.

I'm so happy not to accept invitations or show up. Super happy.

Two of my female friends lost their husbands last year, not Covid. We've been meeting for breakfast twice a week. I'm so happy to being home, it's annoying to have to be out at 8 o'clock. When it's over, I head home.

Socially - absolutely not.

Publicly - for the most part. Covid "taught" me to stay home. I used to be pretty anxious and would go out just to go out - run errands to wherever and whenever. But, I really loathe going to stores now when it's anything but a smattering of people. Going out (bars, restaurants)- because of the social aspect - I like to do, but my standard for "too crowded to enjoy" has changed dramatically.

The question really wouldn't apply to pre-Covid limited/no-contact folks.

It's been helping me heal "back there".

I've been saying since day one that the one silver lining of Covid is being able to work from home full time. It's something I've always known I can do. I was lucky enough during pre-Covid times being able to finagle working from home when I felt like it. I have a fairly low stress job with a boss who doesn't really care where I am as long as work gets done. But it's always bothered me wasting almost 2 hours a day commuting into and out of NYC and sitting in an office all day. Now, I doubt someone in an executive position like mine will ever be required to go back to the office five days a week. We're going to see a huge shift in company policies about remote working over the next months as things slowly go back to "normal", whatever that's going to look like.

R42 lol which one is yours like? We know you're a bottom.

I’m a natural agoraphobic, but I always knew I could go out if I wanted to.

I live alone and I do miss human touch - not necessarily sex, but I miss that too. I was seriously dating this guy and he died alone in the hospital last month. Not Covid - diabetes and alcoholism. I miss him a lot and keep thinking maybe I’m wrong and it’s a dream , but no