It’s not that I can’t. The problem is that when I’m with someone, I deeply yearn to be alone. I’d love to have my life for myself, with no responsibility with no one else - just me.
But then, when I’m alone, I feel like a failure, like I need a relationship to feel complete, and I fucking hate that. So I end up in another relationship, and after two years I can’t stand it anymore, and the cycle repeats.
What the hell. Has anyone suffered from something like that? How can you be alone and not feel lonely? How to kill this need to be with someone?
EDIT: Thanks for all the answers, I’m taking every single one into consideration. Please, keep them coming.
I know several people like this, it’s normal IMO to need social connection, I don’t think you are broken or anything, modern life is hard in a way and if you are a man, it can be even harder because in general men don’t have as many other ways to connect with people so rely more on their romantic partners to provide it. It’s not natural , historically speaking, to be alone as much as we can today. But yes kind of shitty to use people because you can’t be alone so I understand wanting to change it.
If I was being snarky, I’d say have kids because oh my God does that teach you to value solitude. We moved to a new house once and I was alone in the house one day and realized I’d not been alone in that house before, ever, and it had been over a year. The only time alone I’d had for a year was in the car or on a walk.
Therapy is probably the best answer but mindfulness, meditation might help. Sit with your thoughts until you figure out what is happening. When it gets uncomfortable and boring, abide. Listen to the world, focus on your breath, let the thoughts come.
And don’t discount the value of weak social connections, talking to people at work, going to the same place to get coffee or a drink every day, go physically to the library for books, go shopping at little places with real cashiers. All that casual interaction is really good for you, not just deep friendships and lovers but regular shallow contacts too. Oh, and you’ll never have no responsibility, I think you know that, but people do vary in how high maintenance they are, a good match should make you feel you have less responsibility because there are two of you to handle it.
ETA: the “two years” thing made me laugh. That was my husband after he divorced and before we met - he had a string of two years relationships. I think that’s when infatuation fades and you see what is underneath it. So I told him no to living together until we’d been together two years, then he wanted to get married I told him two years before he could ask me that too.