Am I the only person who likes being left alone?

[Jersey_Steve]

Why does everyone look at me like I'm a crazy person when I say I want to be left alone? Am I really the only person who enjoys time to himself without the need to interact with others?

I was out Thursday, Friday, and all last night... so today I was hoping to be left alone. Not go anywhere, not do anything, not see anyone. To be gloriously unbothered.

The best part of my day is when my parents went out shopping and no one was in the house. I'm told that puts people on edge, that it's something they avoid. I crave it. I was blissfully alone, I think I just sat in the living room for an hour with no TV on, just basking in the silence.

Yeah, that lasted long. My friend called me up and asked what I was doing, so I replied, "Nothing really, just chilling," and felt I must somehow be "saved" from being alone. So he asked me to go somewhere and then got all hurt and called me a lazy bum when I declined.

Perhaps it's because I'm an only child. Maybe I'm just a misanthrope. But I seem to be the only person who is enjoys and is not freaked out when nobody is around. And nobody understands that. The girlfriend, while not understanding it, at least can respect it. Which is more than I get from most people, who just think that it's somehow a slight that I need some personal space.

There's got to be other people who feel the same way... right?

[shorty]

I think everyone needs some time to themselves. Some people probably need it more than others. I don't know why people wouldn't understand that. I kind of have the opposite problem though. I have too much freaking time alone. I do like having time to myself, but it's different when it's not always by choice.

[SWMOchick]

I'll give you some of my me time. I've got way too much.

[TinyDancer]

I love alone time. I will purposefully not plan ANYTHING some weekends in order to clean, sleep, chill, work on projects around the house, etc.

That being said, I live in the city and chose to live where I do to meet people and experience things. I hate missing out an opportunity to have fun. . . so I try and get out as much as possible. Also, I live alone so I naturally have *some* alone time every day. . . although sometimes, it doesn't seem like much with work and other madness.

[vivo]

dude that's me to a degree. wish i had friends calling me up though.

[winneythepooh7]

Next weekend I have absolutely nothing planned for the first time in a very long while, and I.CANNOT.WAIT.

[dacrunkest]

I grew up with two other brothers, all very close in age. My childhood was filled with people to screw around, argue, hang out with, etc. Now, I have been spending a lot of time alone over the past few years, and I don't really like it. I don't have friends here and can't seem to muster the courage to go out alone to make friends, so most of my time is spent by myself.

[Chameleon]

I love being alone. I am the 2nd of 4 children all close in age and my parents were pretty active in their church so there were people around all the freaking time. I hated that growing up. I loved when my parents sent me to stay with my great-aunt and great-uncle during summer vacation, so quiet, no entertaining, no fuss.

I like to be around people doing fun stuff, I enjoy my friends, but I need my decompress time. I live alone so at least that's a safe zone where I'm guaranteed peace and quiet.

[wordsmith]

It depends...I spent about 18 years of my life living out of ciruculation, on a farm in a fairly remote area of the country, where the closest opportunity for social interaction was to drive half a dozen miles to the nearest small town (not an option, pre-driving age), and my only real social intereraction with somebody other than my siblings was going to school. So I've never been too bothered by having to fill up time on my own, it was a way of life for more than half my life.

Consequently, I'm not a social butterfly. I have a good time when I do plan things and go out and hang out with people, no question...but I can do that once every few months and be fine with life. I'm generally more relaxed with free time to myself...often, it feels like more of an effort/pressure to be socializing with others than it does fun or relaxation. I also like to call the shots on my free time...I don't like being and/or feeling "expected" to do things. Oftentimes, when I'm invited out to do something, it carries with it the pressure of an expectation, for me, and so I tend to kind of hide out, sometimes, or decline opportunities.

Plus, I'm never really alone, because I'm always around my family, or could be, if I wanted to be. But it doesn't bother me in the least to be on my own. I like being around other people, but I'm totally fine left to my own devices.

[beeblebrox]

I'm treasuring my alone time more since I moved in with my boyfriend. It was weird at first when he wasn't there, but I like having days where I can come home and eat cereal as dinner and relax. Though, it is nice to have him around and cook for more than one person.

[HollyM]

You're not the only one who enjoys being alone... I'm fairly outgoing and enjoy hanging out with friends and meeting new people but if I'm in a certain mood I really crave alone time. I live with my parents who've gone on holiday for 2 weeks leaving me with the house to myself and it's been great. This two weeks is shooting by! Dunno whether having a solitary streak is nature or nurture spending time alone is something I've always enjoyed.

[dolphingirl]

I could not have written that post better myself. I LOVE time alone and I need it, not many people can understand it either. I'd almost say I bordeline spend too much time alone but I enjoy it so I figure if I'm happy maybe there is nothing wrong.

[fuzmiq]

I was just thinking this last night. I am an only child too, so I am used to being alone. In fact, I love my own company. I enjoy me. I love my friends too, but I can not see them for a while and be okay. I think something that forces me to differ from my natural desire for aloneness is that it can offend others and cause strain on frienships.

[embrassezla]

I love my alone time as well, but I'm not sure it even counts as alone time since I'm walking around talking, aloud, to 4 cats. And they talk back.

[Martel]

A lot of people like being alone. You just don't see them, because their alone.

There is a good book about societies reaction to introverts and people who like their alone time.

Party of One: The Loners' Manifesto

http://www.amazon.com/Party-One-Manifesto-Anneli-Rufus/dp/1569245134

[caostotale]

I personally tend to dislike the forced feel that a lot of social outings seem to have. Especially when people ask me to come along on outings that suit their convenience and interests. Not many seem to get that I really like the stuff that I do on my own, or that I actually enjoy spending time with my girlfriend.

I had for a long time tried to make friends and look for people I shared interests with but I've always came up short. People around here, even if they have interests, only seem interested in nurturing their "forced" relationships from the past, including their high school friends and, sometimes, their college friends. Almost always, it ends up having to do with drinking or smoking weed or getting "crazy" in the city or some b.s. like that and I've never been good at forcing myself to enjoy it, so I abstain.

The one place I'd prefer less solitude is at work, because social lives mean the most when the overall social environment is crushingly boring.

[SWMOchick]

My mom calls me on Sunday. It was the usual "I don't have anything to say" type of call. One section of it went like this...

Mom - You're not saying a whole lot.
Me - Mom, you called me.
Mom - That shouldn't mean anything.
Me - I'm just not in the mood to talk right now.
Mom - That seems to be becoming a regular occurrance. Why even answer the phone?
Me - I normally wouldn't, but I know that, the next time you call me, you'll ask why I didn't answer the phone last time you called.
Mom - Well, you don't have to get hateful.
Me - I'm not getting hateful, Mom. I'm just telling you why I answered the phone.


My mom and I are very different people. I think I've expressed this in a different thread. I'm very independent, and she's not. I don't think she goes through times when she just wants to be left alone. Even though I live alone and crave some human contact, I still have times when I would rather just be left alone.

[PenforPrez]

I greatly value alone time. I was raised an only child myself, but my parents gave me a lot of attention. This was alright until the last couple of years, when I really started trying to distance myself from my parents and started doing my own thing.

I enjoy just sitting here alone, cranking up a country song, feeling the notes flow through me. Then my mother will say something in her very loud Louisiana drawl, and I'll just go: "Oh no!"

Talking to yourself while alone is not a bad thing. When you're talking to yourself, you know you're not talking to an idiot! :D

Paul