Loneliness Is Like an Arachnid

Loneliness is a funny thing.
I used to think that the absolutely worst thing in the world was to be alone. But then I realised that no, it's not. The worst thing is being around people who constantly make you feel alone.
It creeps up on you, doesn't it? Like a spider. Nobody wants to be around spiders, and yet we universally have to deal with them, time after time.
Ever seen a spider on the wall and just frozen, because you have no idea how to deal with it?
The easiest thing to do is call someone and get them to deal with it for you. But even after it's gone, when your wall is clear and the windows are bolted shut, the piece of ice cold fear is still lodged in your gut. Your hands are still shaking.
What about when it's there, and you're frozen, your mouth hanging open to call for help, and then you realise that there's no one to call?
There's no one in your house to slam a cup over it, slide a piece of paper underneath, and get rid of the spider?
All you can do is stare at it. Stare and stare in horror as it twitches it's legs and scurries a few inches further up the wall.
There comes a point where you have three options. You can either stay frozen forever, staring at the spider in horror, you can run away in fear and sleep on the couch, or, you can deal with the spider yourself.
The issue with the first option is the relativity of time. Horror tends to freeze your experience of time, and before you know it, three hours seem to have passed in the space of four seconds. All you can think of is the spider. The irrational horror and fear consumes your entire mind.
With number two, you may have escaped the direct problem of the spider, but now, shivering on the cool leather of your sofa as a shroud of darkness creeps in, it's suddenly all you can think of.
It may be out of sight, but it's certainly not out of mind. And you begin to panic, because now you don't know. The spider could be anywhere.
Number three is possibly the best and worst out of the three options.
You get rid of the spider, confident in the knowledge that it's gone, it's expelled, you don't have to worry about seeing it again for a while. But it requires strength. It requires picking up a cup, picking up a sheet of paper, going over to one of the most disgusting species in the world, presenting yourself to it, totally vulnerable to attack, and picking it up yourself.
And really, is there anything more terrifying than that?