Published on 12, July, 2020
By around people I mean social events, work if you're in an office/building site/kitchen with other people (i.e. not work from home), and being at home with family or housemates. Anytime you might reasonably expect to have to talk to those around you. I'm not including walking down the street or sitting silently on the bus.
For me it's about 5 hours a week, maybe 10 if I go out with the walking group, but because it's all voluntary engagements (hobbies, meeting friends, etc) I think people sometimes get the impression I'm really extroverted. But really it's only because I work from home (no calls) and live alone that I can manage that much. When I lived with a partner I managed a lot less and would get meltdowns from lack of alone time.
When I was working it was about 5-6 hours at work with 3 other women and about 12-16 kids. Since my accident I've been mostly without company, and time with people is normally when I go shopping. I like it on my own but I do get lonely. I've got a cat though and she gives me company and friendship, as Sperg suggested to someone on another thread. I love cats but do miss interaction with other people.