To not like being around other people the older I get...

[Totallybannanas]

I’m approaching 45 and have noticed that my people-pleasing tendencies have faded. Lately, I find myself feeling more irritated by others and have little desire to be around people I don’t know. Today at the supermarket, my frustration kept building—I caught myself tutting and muttering under my breath. Between people blocking aisles with their trolleys, chatting in large groups so I couldn’t get to the shelves, and kids getting in the way, it was all just too much. The rising cost of food and frequent empty shelves only added to my annoyance.
I’ve even started avoiding my neighbors because I don’t have the patience for small talk and need a lot of alone time. Meeting up with friends and family feels more like an obligation than something I enjoy. I’ve always been introverted and made the effort, but now I just want to stay home, even spending time away from my husband. I genuinely enjoy my own space and just relaxing.
Can anyone else relate? I know I’m not perfect and probably irritate others too, but the irony is that I find most people inconsiderate, rude, and unpredictable! 😳

Well you seem quite happy waisting alot of energy in this thread disagreeing. The thing with Mumsnet, you only know a snippet from the post. To post all the information would be way too much effort. You also don't know me, as I do not know you as a person.

This is exactly how I feel!

I do try and make an effort with friends know, but we are all knacked so it's fine.

Hard stages work demanding elderly etc. Im wrecked 52. I make big effort with friends but def finding people flaky now re meeting

I’m on a very dreary train journey. It’s passing the time. And I know a hell of a lot of more about you than you know about the people you’ve written off as irritating and annoying wastes of space in the supermarket so I’ll call that even.

Yes, it's the 'everyone wants a piece of me' thing. One day I just stood up and was like, "Hey, I'm a person too!'

I think it started building because I care for three people and they all have services involved and the services were all telling me what the person I care for needs me to do for them. Three different services, all thinking I have no-one else to care for but the one person and, the biggest thing, with no regard to me being an individual person with needs, who gets tired sometimes and isn't just there to run around after everyone else 24/7. It's like I was invisible to them.

Then when you tell one you can't do x because of other demands they ask if you can do it every week on your one day you get a tiny bit of rest (though you don't really, because demands are still there). It was the first time I said, "No, I cannot do that every Sunday!" quite firmly.

Ok, well we can agree to disagree based on that comment as you are clearly twisting my words and are bored and I am super knackered. I only come on to have a discussion not an argument. I will let you enjoy the rest of your journey in peace.

Ignore OP. Honestly some people on here just love being on the attack and arguing. Sometimes I feel people will try to gauge any angle on any post on here to twist and be oppositional.

Thank you, they definitely do which is such a shame!

Interestingly, there's another thread going on at the moment bemoaning the observation that men become less social as they age. Which is not acceptable, according to most of the posters on that one.

I feel like I'm just much more choosy about how I spend my time and who I engage with. I definitely don't hate everyone. I avoid situations that I know wind me up (shopping, especially supermarkets, being the obvious example) but I really enjoy interacting with people who are nice. Yesterday I was eating alone in a restaurant and really enjoyed seeing the waitress serving 4 young boys on the table next to me and I had a nice chat with her while paying my bill. So I think it's fair enough to be irritated by certain people/places but it's important to look out for social situations that bring joy and hang on to those.

To the PP who described the negative vibes in Sainsbury's these days - I hear you!! It's so depressing in our local store these days and that kind of environment doesn't put anyone in a good mood.

I think though on MN, if you point out inconsistencies and hypocritical viewpoints, your comment will be ignored.

Posters like that make me want to retreat even more. If that’s how the nice and jolly people communicate, I don’t want anything to do with them 😬

Mmm. Yup, Im here😂

Not sure about previous comments as my cats can be irritating bastards too.

43 here and feel the exact same way. It’s been quite sudden in some respects but I don’t crave company, I crave peace. I have a busy life with family / kids / work / sports so it’s not like I’m a recluse but I really hate socialising all of a sudden. A lot of people talk so much shit and I’m just not interested. So many fake people too.

I could have written the OP myself. However I am not menopausal and am in my early 80s. Ive had several careers and travelled widely to places it is difficult to visit nowadays. I do run an online business (which Ive been gradually scaling back) but I dont have to communicate face to face so I mostly use stock messages. Most of the work I do on autopilot.

My life has now become very small by my own wish. The fact is that I really cant be bothered with other people, particularly randoms and neighbours. They are not contributing anything to my life so I use facilities like cctv and ring doorrbels to filter my interactions with them. Unless you have an appointment or are holding a package to deliver I will mostly ignore you when you knock on my door.