Case
Well-known member
Have you ever found yourself feeling really lonely and isolated, and when someone invites you to do something fun, you make up an excuse not to do it?
That happened to me last week. I was feeling lonely, and on a spur-of-the-moment occasion, I got a text requesting me to have dinner with people who are about the only family I have without being biological. But I said I was busy. I said I had a project deadline due. My friend texted back and said, "Come take a break and have dinner with us." And I insisted that my project needed to be completed that evening, so she relented.
Later, I felt so bad about turning her down that I actually finished the project I mentioned to her, which was not actually due that evening. All out of guilt, and also so I could later say that I really did use that time to finish that project.
Why do I push people away when I'm feeling sad and lonely? Shouldn't I jump at the chance to be around people I like in those moments when I despise my isolation? Why would I want to retreat from people I genuinely care about? Maybe it's more than just loneliness. Maybe I'm falling into a depression and I'm only seeing the beginning of it right now.
That happened to me last week. I was feeling lonely, and on a spur-of-the-moment occasion, I got a text requesting me to have dinner with people who are about the only family I have without being biological. But I said I was busy. I said I had a project deadline due. My friend texted back and said, "Come take a break and have dinner with us." And I insisted that my project needed to be completed that evening, so she relented.
Later, I felt so bad about turning her down that I actually finished the project I mentioned to her, which was not actually due that evening. All out of guilt, and also so I could later say that I really did use that time to finish that project.
Why do I push people away when I'm feeling sad and lonely? Shouldn't I jump at the chance to be around people I like in those moments when I despise my isolation? Why would I want to retreat from people I genuinely care about? Maybe it's more than just loneliness. Maybe I'm falling into a depression and I'm only seeing the beginning of it right now.