Is Living Alone Making You Weird?

[BoDy*ShOt]

I will be living by myself for the first time in a very. very. long time in the next week or so... i'll get back to you w how weirder I've become ;-s

[Gentle Tiger]

I am a loner by nature. I enjoy living alone. I need space. Does it make me weird? Hmm... Well, I do talk to myself. But I know how to behave when outside. That being said, I have had to catch myself when making quirky noises. I am very particular about my space, how things are organized and cleaned. I wouldn't say I'm a neat freak but others might.

Some might consider my eating habits weird. They seem normal to me. lol I eat what I want, however I want, when I want. If I feel like using a mixing bowl for my cereal or whatever I'm eating I do. If I feel like using a nice plate I do. Closing doors to use the bathroom? Why? There's no one here. But I remember my manners when outside of my house. As for clothing, I will just say I am always comfortable and leave it at that. *smirk*

But isn't this what being grown is about? Having your own place where you set the rules and are 100% free to be you without judgment? I'm a quirky guy and living alone means enjoy being quirky in peace no matter what that looks like on any given day.

[aishah]

amen to gentle tiger's post.

i'm living alone for the first time in my life and i love it. when my partners move here in the next year we're getting a house together but til then i have a whole two-bedroom apartment all to myself (one bedroom's an office). i've always lived with roommates before this.

i have weird house-only outfits...they're called "pajamas." (i.e. tank tops and plaid pants i would never wear in public but i wear them all the time if i'm staying home all day or working from home.) i don't think that habit is THAT quirky. lol.

i eat weird things sometimes but i try to eat pretty regularly and eat normal stuff. i do sometimes have a strange sleeping cycle and i leave the bathroom door open, but i do that whether i'm alone or with a partner - it doesn't really matter. my partners have weird sleeping cycles too.

[genghisfawn]

So... I thought I wanted to reply, but honestly, my weirdnesses are mine. They are weird and probably make me unappealing on so many levels, but I'm glad to see that some of my eccentricities are shared by others (bathroom door open, eating out of jars, declaiming ingredients lists as one would a monologue, etc.)

Maybe there are things I do which I don't find weird, but others would. That's the scary bit!

[Hack]

Technically, I don't live alone. I have a housemate, who is also one of my best mates, but he isn't here about 50 percent of the time because his work takes him out of town or out of state quite often.

Living alone doesn't make me weird. I've never really been bothered by it. It does make me lazy about inside chores (I love doing work outside), as some of have mentioned. I do chat with my dog from time to time. I like being able to lounge about in my boxers and a tshirt and watch baseball whenever I want. I like being able to have my own schedule, though lately I am not as good about sticking to it.

Lately, I have found myself having brief periods of acute loneliness. I've started working on it in therapy to try to determine the root of it. It has only started in the last couple of months. I think part of it is a lot of my local friends now have kids who are older and more involved in after-school things, like sports or the arts, and they are all wrapped up in that. And while I do occasionally go to a high school swim meet in support of my friends' daughter, I do miss our more care-free days of potlucks and cook-outs.

[aishah]

i forgot to add! one of my other weirdnesses is that i eat on nice dishes all the time. when i first moved into my new place i couldn't bring a lot of my previous possessions, including cheap dishes. i got a few plastic plates just in case until i got settled, then my neighbor gave me two huge boxes of gorgeous antique chinese dishes, cups, and bowls. and a friend gave me some crystal plates. and i figure why let them sit around and go un-used? lol so if you eat dinner at my house you'll get the fancy schmancy stuff. even if it's just for pizza.

i sleep on a mattress on the floor and i actually like it that way. i have a bed frame with box springs but when i moved the bed from room to room the box springs wouldn't fit around the corners. so i tried to convert the bed frame into a platform bed. that didn't work out so well. so i just put the frame in a closet and now i sleep on the floor. i'm looking into buying a new platform bed (i want a bigger bed) at some point, but i'd still prefer for it to be low to the ground even if not on the ground. sometimes getting up and down is hard, but on the upside it encourages my crippled behind to stretch in the mornings.

i'm not sure if this is weird but i close all the doors when i'm sleeping. open doors kinda freak me out.

i do get lonely a lot with working from home and living alone. i love living alone for work purposes - i get a lot more done than when i had roommates or when i'm with a partner. but i can go days without seeing anyone, which is really unhealthy for me. i try to get out as much as possible.

[Kobi]

I never saw the things I did as odd or weird or related to living alone. To me, it has always been my preferences for me in my space.

I like eating when I am hungry rather than on a schedule. I sleep when I am tired, not at prescribed hours.

I buy household stuff to suit my preferences. So, if you show up unexpectedly, the only things you will have to drink is coffee or bottled water. And if you want a sandwich, I have cheese and condiments - if you want bread and cold cuts with it, you had better bring them.

I do close the bathroom door. It is the only reprieve I get from the cat. If I abuse this privilege she allows me, I will see paws making their way under the door.

In warm weather I do go topless. However, I have learned to keep a shirt by the door, and after flashing the maintenance guys one too many times, I do shut the blinds.

I sing the theme song to the Jetsons in the shower including the sound effects. It used to be the rubber ducky song.

So much for projecting a certain image eh?

[TimilDeeps]

Originally Posted by Kobi

So, I'm wondering, do you have any little quirks or eccentricies that you attribute to living alone? Do you ever take them with you when visiting others?

Nope, just living makes me weird

[girl_dee]

i loved living alone!

it's probably what makes me a rather difficult room mate, i get hung up on things that aren't a big deal but get under my skin, and i know that's *my* stuff and am learning to lighten up a bit!


like, crumbs in the butter, drives me NUTS.

[femmennoir]

Unique home only outfits.......well, yes, mostly pyjama bottoms with whatever on top, and I will walk my dog wearing these, hoping not to be seen!
Running things past the above mentioned dog.......of course! she is a fountain of wisdom, and the two of us share conversations and snacks (we do so love foie gras on toasted rustic bread, with a flute of Champagne for me, but never in the shower)
Reading until 2 or 3 in the morning....all the time, and with a dog against my side
Breakfast for lunch or dinner............never! I do cook and enjoy doing so, almost as much as I enjoy eating. Besides, the wise dog enjoys my cooking!

Living alone, how glorious!

Elle*

[Scuba]

Originally Posted by TimilDeeps

Nope, just living makes me weird

Ditto

[SugarFemme]

Let's see if leaving my bathroom door open when I am alone, talking to my dog who is a member of my family, taking a spoonful out of MY PB makes me weird....YUP!!! Guilty as charged!!! I'm weird LOL

[Mr Nice Guy]

I love living alone. It's having my Mom live with me thats making me weird.

[Billy]

I don't think living alone makes Me weird , I was born this way
I have lived alone for some time , I believe it gave Me a chance to get to know Myself and grow as a person ..

[LeftWriteFemme]

I blame the strangeness that goes on in my house on the eccentric dog that I live with.....

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by Kobi

The article also talks about how living alone might lead to quirkiness, eccentricies, and general weirdness in the comfort of our own homes where we are free to be ourselves. It is being called Secret Single Behavior.

The NY Times needs to get with the times - weird is the new normal and normal is the new wierd.

Personally, there's nothing new about any of this. Typically, if living alone, we have more freedom to act how we want and when we want to.

However, it's no different to someone who lives as part of a large family i.e. their behaviour will be very different in that family setting to when the rest of the family disappear and, similarly, their behaviour will typically be different when at work i.e. to a certain extent, we adjust our behaviour to varying degrees depending upon the social circumstances and expectations.

When living on your own, you're clearly less restricted in that sense. Is that weird? To me, it seems weird to want it any other way ....... as someone who works intense hours in a crowded city, has an active and rather intense life outside of work, I love to be able to shut the door to the world, to escape people and just be my natural grumpy and curmudgeonous self.

[iamkeri1]

I actually don't find any of these behaviors to be weird. I do not live alone, and I do most of these things. I do not drink champagne in the shower at 8am. I don't like champagne, and I takes baths, not showers. I have, however, eaten many meals while soaking in the bathtub. I think it makes sense to wash your vegetables while in the shower since it saves water. Having them share a soaking in the bathtub with me, is much less appealing, I must say.

Weird is normal
Smooches,
Keri

Originally Posted by Kobi

There was an article in the New York Times
looking at how 1 in 4 American households and 1 in 2 in Manhattan now have a single occupant.

The article also talks about how living alone might lead to quirkiness, eccentricies, and general weirdness in the comfort of our own homes where we are free to be ourselves. It is being called Secret Single Behavior.

Some examples of secret single behavior would be:

~ walking around naked at 2am eating peanut butter from a jar while drinking OJ from the carton

~ unique sleep habit cycles without a routine schedule

~ weird meal habits i.e. eating the same thing for breakfast, lunch and supper (hey, it was on sale) or having doritos as a meal

~ leaving the bathroom door open (which apparently is a habit we might take with us when we visit others)

~running stuff by our pets who are notorious good listeners

~drinking champagne in the shower at 8am

~washing vegetables while showering

~playing video games for days without sleeping

~unique home only outfits

I dont know if this stuff is really the result of living alone or just people being people.

So, I'm wondering, do you have any little quirks or eccentricies that you attribute to living alone? Do you ever take them with you when visiting others?

[genghisfawn]

Okay... Here's an observation. Right now I am staying at my best friend's place with another close friend and my best friend's mom. We all live alone and are all the creative sort. Throughout the day we've spent mainly together, we've all silently yet mutually agreed that for a half hour, here and there, we need to retreat and do something solitary. Play a game, take a nap, read, knit, whatever. I mentioned it and nobody thought it was weird, apologised, etc. I'm going to assume that it's because we take these lapses of solitude as our way of personally regrouping whilst thrown together.

Oh, and all of us, within 5 minutes of getting in the door, take our bras off.

[deedarino]

Dressed in my "oh hell no only at home" wear, doing dishes with ipod in tow, my inner cuban/pole/?? dancer decided to come out. My cats think I am fantastic.

Kitchen is clean and the cats aren't talkin. EVER.

[cinderella]

Make the bed? Who makes the bed????

Living alone...I am an expert. I've lived alone for most of my adult life, taking time out for the few live-in relationships I've had - most long-term. But I adapt very easily to going it alone - yet again.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a live-in partner, but I think again and reflect:

I would be expected to have a neat & clean house (I do for the most part - but am a lousy housekeeper, and only do it when I absolutely can't stand it anymore).

I would have to deal with eyerolls every time I wanted some wine - which is often. Hey, you're not paying for it, nor do I expect you to, so piss off!!

I'd have to consider someone else before making any decisions...I don't like that at all. I'm too used to pleasing me, and of course my puppy - but she's easy - for the most part.

I'd have to get out of bed to pass gas at night - which is often.

I'd have to close the bathroom door - something I never do, unless of course, I'm visiting (which is never), or have company, which is maybe once or twice a year.

Go out when I don't feel like it.

Control my impulse buying - I hate that one!

Have to consider someone else's opinion/desires when decorating - something that is anathema to me! Or for that matter, on anything!

...and the list goes on and on, but this will do for a start. Wow! What a surprise that I'm single! lol

Originally Posted by tiggs

I think that there are definitely habits we form when living alone. Many years ago (when I had been single for several years) I would not sleep in my bed but instead slept every night on the couch. Certainly saved time making the bed in the morning lol