It's sounding a lot like the old saying is true: Work to live, don't live to work.

I remember years ago one of my teachers claiming that the main point of school was to teach us to work, i.e. get up in the morning, go somewhere you don't really like, and stay there until hometime. For the record, I think he was right, but one thing school doesn't teach us is how to connect with others once school is over. If the kind of work you do doesn't put you in direct regular contact with a big group of people, it's lonely.

I know that often, it's impossible to do anything, but you are managing work so I just wondered if you had it in you to try something new, maybe just for an hour a week. Join a reading club, or learn a new hobby. If you can't think of anything, what about a hour or so of voluntary work?

I'm saying those things, because it sounds as if you need friends (more than online friends; friends in the real world). Maybe if you can pull it off, next time your family expect you to be there at the drop of a hat, you'll be able to remind them that you have your own life.

Anyway, don't know if any of that has helped at all, and I did also want to tell you that it doesn't sound like self pity. Sometimes, it's incredibly difficult to see out of these holes we find ourselves in.

Lots of