Only anecdotal, of course, because I haven’t been out to do any research, but I have heard of one person at least enjoying the months of “stress-free quiet time”. She is not a social person by nature and has a lovely well-equipped home. She listens to music, cooks from her well-stocked freezer, and works several days a week by telecommuting. She is the lucky exception.
The other people I know or hear from who live alone are lonely, but trying to make the best of it. One goes for daily walks with a friend who has also been tested. Another goes for daily walks alone, picking a different route every day. He notices birds for the first time and is amazed at the variety in his small town. Another single woman I know who has been furloughed from her work for months has taken this opportunity to write her memoirs, something she has wanted to do for many years.
The loneliness aspect of being shut in, particularly when there is no job to do, is successfully handled in many ways. What most do is try to find a way to connect with others – by phone, by Zoom or other visible connection, by email or (gasp) written letters. One man I know has taken to Facebook to try to find the members of his long ago college basketball team, with some success. Hunting down old friends or relatives through the family tracing applications like Ancestor.com is another excellent way of keeping involved and connected. I personally was reached out to by my dearest friend from grade school, well over 50 years ago.
Mostly I hear from or about couples. Of course I hear the comments that after this is over there will be an increase in both births and break-ups. I think there well might be but only time will tell. I do hear that many people – married, lovers, or just roommates – are suffering from too much togetherness. If you cannot go out and your living space is confining, what then?
I have always found that I can escape any surroundings, any reality, in a good book. I have never read in bed and always had a favorite reading chair wherever I lived. I curl up in it, open the pages, and the world disappears. A good long soak in a bathtub allows calm and solitude too.
Most couples I’ve spoken to say they spend their time in separate rooms and get together, perhaps, for meals. If where you live provides any outdoor space take it if weather permits. No private garden? Even the steps of a fire escape might do. Depending who if anyone is fragile in health and is really confined one can ask the other to go out for a while so the one can have the pleasure of being alone. Did you ever build a tent of pillows and a draped sheet when you were a kid? Do it again. Read by a flashlight and you are magically 10 years old!
This is a difficult time for most of us. If you cannot find an ideal solution to being alone or to being too much together then do what you can, smile, and know that times are changing and an end may be just around the corner.