This website/blog is for people who have Avoidant Personality Disorder or traits of it.
I myself have been “diagnosed” with traits of AvPD. I have put the brackets up because this was the result of an hour’s long telephone conversation with a psychiatrist in 2023 – which isn’t long enough to diagnose anyone.
There is plenty of medical information out there about AvPD and I want to make this website about my own personal experiences and to give examples in the areas that we struggle in.
I’m in a pretty unique position and have never met anyone like myself who spends all of their time alone and who has no one in their life. No next of kin for form filling, not a family member, a neighbour or a friend. And I have looked for solitary people in various groups and forums, but most people have someone.
That is not to say that they don’t feel as alone, of course.
A lot of us like spending solitary time alone, reading our books, watching films, doing activities alone without the distraction, interference or judgement of people, not to mention the often inane egotistic chatter constantly on repeat.
But along with that aloneness can come all sorts of issues. Plenty of us wish we could be around people, but we just can’t. We envy people who have friends and who can socialise without extreme fears.
I’ve decided to start this blog/website for a few reasons.
The first one is that I would love to know just how many people have absolutely no one; I’ve searched in various Facebook groups but it seems that everyone has someone.
The second reason is that I really want to illustrate to people with AvPD and also health professionals exactly how this thing affects me by giving actual examples. If you have AvPD and find yourself doing certain things that they call coping mechanisms, I want to write about what I do so that you don’t feel so isolated (I’m also hoping it’s not just me).
And the third reason is maybe if there are enough loners out there who would like to meet other loners, maybe I can start listing people by their location in the hope that you can meet others who get it.
