“Going Downstairs After Turning Off The Lights” And 30 Other Things That Our Community Is Afraid Of Doing Alone

I am pretty confident that if he goes first I won't be far behind with a broken heart.

Been with my wife 40 year met when I was 18 and we both are hoping we will go together... We are so tuned to each other she is irreplaceable to me as I am to her ❤️

15yrs since the love of my life passed, I've never gotten over it and the loneliness is too profound for word's 😢

I'm going through this at the moment but the other way round. Me going first and leaving behind the love of my life. Like that's it, no more time with him. 😢

As someone who lost my first big love in a car accident: Always tell the people that matter the most to you how much you love them and never let them leave without telling them so. You never know when they might be gone and it might be sooner than you think.

Good for you! Happy trails!

Having just been left for another woman at 67, I hope I can follow your example!

I'm so glad you are free; and you weren't stupid at all. Abusers make us feel like we are dependent on them; you were abused, it wasn't your fault x

I can definitely relate but at least I wasn't stuck in a marriage like that for so long. I was in a relationship with for 6 years with a narcissist and when I was finally free of him and in charge of my life. I was so terrified of screwing it up because he told me how useless I was everyday. But I'm now 4 years down the line and I have not being homeless or gone hungry or been left sitting in the dark or in the cold, once

I’m so happy for you!! I wish you all the love & happiness in the world!

Natural fear of not being able see what wants to kill you

I have a tip for that. The thing that scares me the most about that is the potential shadows and shapes so when I go downstairs, I close my eyes and walk normally. If I don’t see it, it doesn’t happen!

I have migraines, so i spend a lot of time in the dark. I also have PTSD, so I understand fear. But maybe think of it this way. The darkness isn't hiding something else, it's hiding you. Darkness is your friend. It's like a blanket of invisibility. Cover yourself in it, and feel safe

I have fallen down enough stairs to understand this fear! Well I do not have stairs in my home, I do use smart bulbs that are voice activated so that I don't need to worry about stumbling in the dark and tripping up my cat to get to the kitchen!

Nightlights. The kind that are switched on by low light levels.

I'm with you sister! I'm a single American female and wouldn't walk into a bar unless I had a body guard!

This is such a bait answer. https://screenshot-media.com/politics/human-rights/roofies-are-on-the-rise/ there is an article from last year showing the increase of sexual violence in England and the use of roofies. Fun interesting statistic showed the rate or reported attacks was right about the same as the USA...double concerning is that's a population of 68million vs 309 million. Less people same rate of assaults. But again please keep going to pubs solo bc it's safe.

Yeah not the best idea

Yeah, they don't have those in England. SMH.

Ok, they are all not like this. Weird.

I’ve been there my friend….I’ve been there

Cobra chickens!

That damn goose! Gotta be careful around that hot headed bastard. That space you want to walk on is his.

Geese are vicious! And if they're protecting mamma and eggs/babies, forget about it! They'll attack shopping carts, fork lifts, even cars. Here in KS it's illegal to bother them in anyway. Well, Canada geese. Not all of them.

i live near where geese come in the summer and i can confirm that these things are jerks

Please don’t. I used to be afraid of eating alone because of the eating alone stigma around here, especially because I am not local and didn’t speak well. However, my lunch group was borderline unbearable that I started to go out by myself, clutching on the newspaper (this was 20 years ago) and ate at lightning speed. Now, eating alone is a bliss. And since I am staying far away from my loved ones, watching movie alone is my favorite leisure as well. I think there is a study that we feel watched and judged, but statistic actually show that is not the case. So, go out there and enjoy your time.

I’m a bigger woman too, tho I am working on being healthier. I was afraid to eat alone too, until I started working a second job at a nice restaurant to supplement my income. There was a woman who would come in every few nights to eat alone, and she would have a leisurely meal while studying. I found out she was working towards her masters and this was her way of rewarding herself. I was intrigued and decided to try it myself, as I was studying for my pharm-tech license. I started going alone regularly to my favorite neighborhood restaurant. It was amazing. The staff came to know me and would bring me extra treats/coffee and make sure I was undisturbed. Now I enjoy eating out alone.

To echo the other commenters. First few times I went out alone I was self conscious. I got over that quick when I realized that it's so peaceful and that most people aren't even paying attention to me - and if they are, so what, f**k em. Now I almost exclusively go to restaurants alone if I can. That's my ME time and it ain't cheap, so why bog it down with distractions and small talk?

I hate eating with people other than my family/close friends, especially in nicer restaurants. When I was a teenager dealing with ED, my aunt told me few nasty things about my table manners. I mostly won over my ED since then but I'm still reluctant to eat in "fancy" places because I feel like everybody is judging me and my behaviour.

I haven't tried eating alone in some restaurant however doing it in fastfood places seems normal. I mean often I am not the only one.

This. Especially alone.

Me too now. I've been caught in rips too many times! Even when with a group I've managed to get swept away without them realising. As I have exercise-induced asthma too, I have had attacks while trying to escape. I know you are supposed to stop fighting and let it sweep you out the back until it disappears, but my fight/flight response doesn't remember. One time a surfer had to drag me onto his board and take me to shore. I realised part of the problem was I take my glasses off to swim, so can't see the rips, so I don't think I'll be going in again.

It's not bad unless you nearly get swept away. It happened to me twice.