Singles say they’re better prepared to self-quarantine, but many fear getting shortchanged in medica
“This is the moment I’ve been training for all my life!” an unnamed introvert asserts in a Facebook post, as covid-19 sends much of the world into seclusion.
Edie Jarolim, a freelance writer and editor in Arizona, can relate to that sentiment — that adults who have chosen to live alone may be better adapted than many to the stay-at-home restrictions in place in large parts of the United States and elsewhere.
“I know many/most people find comfort in other people’s company in situations like this,” she said in an email. “Me, I am eternally grateful that I am not stuck at home with someone else.”
Others contacted through the Community of Single People, a Facebook support group for adults who are single by choice, agree. Ranging in age from 35 to 73, they responded by email to questions about what the lockdown means to men and women who thrive on living solo even in normal times.
Others worry that patients who are single may be viewed as less important when it comes to medical treatment than those who have partners.
Nevertheless, they consider their lifestyle an advantage during the covid-19 lockdown. London psychologist Eva Papadopoulou put it this way: “I think those who are single by choice and loving having time to themselves are very well equipped to deal with isolation.” But, she reiterated, only “provided that living alone is a lifestyle choice.”