Myself,

You've been there. It helps to hear about it. I too have got some contacts with younger writers and have been passing on gigs and workshops to them. Some of it is paid work that I don't want these days.

I carefully chose poets that I don't know so well, so that there is no intimate connection with them. When I do a poetry gig myself I tend to choose something a long way from home, at least 50 miles, sometimes 100 miles. That way I feel more comfortable.

Yes, the thing about being pestered is a real problem, and I have posted about it here on the site before. In your case it sounds like the building you live in makes you vulnerable and in my case it's the small town I think. People, especially retired people, don't have much to do and so they are interested in a new face I guess.

I've really struggled with the privacy thing. To most people I say nothing, but then my sudden absences seem to upset them. Also people don't give up, so I've let them down several times and that's bad. I'm running out of excuses.

I can really see how our illnesses drive us into isolation, it seems to be the natural progression.

Cheers, M