Feeling more anxious when home alone

[fred4761]

I used to be fine being home alone while my partner was at work. However since my partner started working from home 3 years ago, I realise that I haven’t been home on my own at all really. I haven’t worked in paid employment for several years now because my anxiety, depression and O.C.D. became too much for me. I do volunteer work a few times a week.

My partner is going to start helping to teach music lessons at a local primary school one day a week and it has just hit me today that I will be home alone during this time. I am already starting to feel anxious when I think about being by myself. I will have my pets to keep me company. I am just feeling so worried and I can’t seem to pin point why. I don’t know what it is about being alone that is so worrying. I was thinking that maybe part of it could be because we only have one car and my partner will be taking it so then I would be stuck at home if there was an emergency. Although I guess that if there was an emergency I would call an ambulance or a taxi. But then again, if there was an emergency with one of my pets I wouldn’t be able to drive them to the vet. Aside from that I don’t know what it is about being alone. Does anyone else feel more anxious when they are home alone? What do you do to help yourself when you are feeling anxious when you are home alone?

[YellowPoppy]

Hey,

So currently I am not by myself ever.
What I am doing to build up being on my own is small steps to push my boundaries.

Like ill stay inside by myself while everyone else works outside.

Could you and your partner try that? Maybe just for 10 minutes and then extend?

Another thing, I find that often I don't know why I'm anxious and if I try to figure it out I make myself more anxious, so to the best of my ability, I acknowledge that I'm anxious and I push it aside. I'm not very good at it but it has helped.

I sqlso find that setting tasks helps me.
Everything you need to do broken up in to small steps. I find it keeps me focused and helps pass the time.

These may not work for you, but they have helped me.

Good luck!

YP

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi fred4761,

Thank you for your post. This is something I can resonate with a lot as I've personally gone through very similar things.

One of the things that's helped me is to know that our anxiety is ultimately trying to protect us, especially when we head to the 'what if' kind of thoughts even though they're probably very unlikely to happen. So having a plan can be key, knowing that even though you don't have a car, there are lots of people who don't either and it's about finding different ways to feel safe and in control.

I have a dog too and there's been times where I've needed an emergency vet. In this case, I've often tried to ring my partner to get him home early, or there's a number that I can call for advice. Given that your pets live with you, it's probably worth remembering it's a pretty controlled environment for them - so there's not a lot of dangers/things out there that would cause a pet emergency.

What are the other things that make you worry or cause anxiety? If you can try to get curious about them, I think that it can help.