Partners of DRs/medical professionals
26F struggling with loneliness due to partner’s (28M) work schedule
My partner (28M) and I (26F) have been together for a couple of years. He works in healthcare and has a very demanding job involving long and unpredictable hours, nights and on-call shifts.
We have a really good relationship and I’m very proud of him, but recently I’ve been struggling with how lonely the lifestyle can sometimes feel.
He can be away for very long periods and when he eventually gets home he’s understandably exhausted and often falls asleep almost immediately. I don’t blame him at all and I actually worry more about how much he’s working than anything else.
I’ve realised though that I’ve started spending quite a lot of time alone and looking forward to him coming home, only for him to understandably need to sleep and recover.
I’d really love to hear from people whose partners have similarly demanding careers. How do you build your own life and cope with the loneliness without making your partner feel guilty for something they can’t really control?
And how do you protect quality time together when your partner is exhausted whenever they’re actually home?