Am I Depressed? Or Did I Just become a Recluse?

Advice Needed

I have no desire to go anywhere or do anything social at all, ever. I don't think I'm "depressed" and that's the reason I feel this way, (I have been in the past), I just would rather just stay at home and do my hobbies and relax. I work a standard full-time job 9 to 5, and I also attend college online full time, which I primarily work on during the evening evenings and weekends. So yes, I do have a busy life. When I have free time though, all I want to do is hang out at home.

I typically force myself to socialize & attend an event when:
it would make me a "bad friend" to not attend (ex. Birthdays, Weddings, achievement celebrations, etc).
Because my partner seems interested and I don't want our relationship to suffer because I'm a homebody. When we got together over 3 years ago, we went out and did something every time we saw each other. He is extremely extroverted and social.

I also have no desire to maintain any of the friendships I had/have. Most of the friends I've had are lifelong friends and through the years we grew apart or got too busy and don't see each other often. For example, I have a childhood friend who's always been a little dramatic and won't reach out for a few weeks if you did something to frustrate her. Under normal circumstances she calls or texts every week. Normally, if she goes silent, I'd text her or call her to see what was up, and we'd laugh and shrug it off. However, the last time this happened I didn't reach out to her and we haven't talked since. That was in February.

Even with other friends, I have no desire to make plans for another dinner, night out, or sit and chat session at a bar. I forget to respond to texts and if they aren't putting in effort to reach out or hang out either, our communication fizzles out.

Is there something wrong with me or have I just become antisocial? Socializing feels like doing the dishes and the sink is never empty.

Posted Jul 10, 2026, 5:55 PM UTC

56
Loading comments…