Getting Older – Living in Fear

Living in Fear

Take it from me, the older you get, the less likely you are to feel safe.

I’m in my mid-sixties, live alone and I’m basically petrified of stepping out of my front door these days, to the point where I now no longer even to go to the corner shop.

Every day I live my life behind closed and locked doors within the relative safety of my home. I buy everything I need, food, clothing, etc. via the internet.

Where might that devil care, up for anything younger version of me go? When did I become the frightened person I now am?

I have led a fairly dull law-abiding boring normal existence, largely without a care in the world, or for my own personal safety. My life now is not the one I would have wished for or dreamt of even ten years ago.

I’m still basically healthy, despite enduring several nervous breakdowns in recent years. I eat enough, I sleep relatively well, and yet I live in fear of the world beyond my door.

The part of town I live in is an enclave of older people like me, subjected to constant opportunistic break-in attempts by local troublemakers and unfortunately close to an area inhabited by hooded yobs. When I was moved here, I foolishly thought I was being moved into a quiet, safe area.