Does anyone here feel anxious or stressed when alone?

Here’s the thing (and I’m a bit shy to bring it up)...

I have a tendency to over-think things, especially when I’m alone in my apartment or in my office at work, and in turn this can lead to a bad case of stress and/or a state of anxiousness. Often it’s caused by a fair amount of anticipation of a situation or event, e.g. knowing that I have to go into work the next day or waiting on exam results. Other times, the tension or anxiety just creeps up on me for reasons I can’t even pinpoint :( More often than not, this tense state of mind hits me when I’m alone.

It may be important to note that I live in Montreal, QC, in the Great White North, where the days are short from early Nov to April. It could be a seasonal thing…but I don’t want to digress too much.

When I get this overwhelming feeling of nervousness, I sometimes try to tackle it by doing something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I try to take care of one of my daily or weekly responsibilities, like feeding the cat (daily) or buying groceries (weekly or almost weekly) and the anxiety goes away slightly, sometimes even completely. Other times I have a hard time mustering up the energy to free my troubled mind of all the shitty, anticipatory thoughts.

Side-note: I am the king of procrastination. Do you think that would have anything to do with the way I’m feelin’?

So far, being in the presence of others seems to be the most effective thing out there for me. I’m looking for ways to feel comfortable in my own skin without having to always rely on my girlfriend/friends/loved ones when I find myself in this situation. I used to value alone or – as my girlfriend calls it – “me” time. I have a heap of cool interests and am passionate about a lot of things as well. I’m a singer-songwriter and a part-time student and love to play hockey (roller or ice) and soccer or to simply go for a jog or running/sprinting session.The nervousness can get in the way of me doing these things, the very things I love!

Does anyone here experience the same or similar feelings? Any suggestions for what I can do to calm my mind and to reclaim some good ol’ ME time?