Does anyone feel old and useless with age?

@ I was 66 when my husband passed, I was able to drive myself to Church. I had a circle of ladies I met with to do some volunteer for special needs children do you feel you are not getting family support if they are near by
I felt as long as I was able, doing helpful things for someone else kept me from feeling lonely.
cryingunderwater

@lylii if you still get no response after what @gravity suggests, just remove yourself from the family chat (you simply go into the chat settings and remove your name), and find other discussion threads where you can feel heard (e.g., Mayo Connect), groups on various subjects on social media. You could also find in person social groups (e.g. at your local library), or sign up as a volunteer at an agency.

I've outlived all of my best friends and I'm only 73. I'm not outgoing, so I don't make new friends very easily. Most of my casual friends were from work. My job was eliminated three years after my company was acquired by a bigger one. I was a contract worker for nearly two years until the covid lockdown when all the contract workers were let go. I have AFib, PVCs and PACs. My wife is considerably younger, still working and still active. I'm the oldest living member of the family and I live nearly an hour away from my younger sister, who's still working and keeps busy with her children and grandchildren. I don't function well in the heat and humidity. I've been dealing with various health issues for the past year (covid, vertigo, cervical spine issues, etc.) and then I was diagnosed with PMR in March, which probably started last October but was initially attributed to my cervical spine issues. In May I was diagnosed with SMM. My body has had to adjust to high dose prednisone for the PMR and then a fast taper off prednisone because of the SMM. I'm fatigued all the time and now in pain from the PMR. I can't work outside for more than 30-45 minutes at a time in the heat and humidity. My wife has taken over most of the outdoor chores. I lose my breath walking up the stairs. We live on a busy county road in NJ so there's no real neighborhood for walking or interacting with neighbors. I have arthritic knees, so it's difficult to walk the hard floors of the few remaining malls. I don't enjoy reading like I used to because my eyes get tired. I'm really starting to feel useless and unmotivated, and I sound like a grumpy and tired old man, even to me.

@kjoed53 would it be possible for you and your wife to move to a condo apartment so you don’t have to deal with stairs and outside maintenance?

I can relate to arthritic knees - and I have high tolerance to pain! Until two days ago I could barely move my right leg because the pain was so intense. Went to a sports medical clinic and a doctor gave me a steroid injection in my knee and what a difference that has made in just two days. Knee is still painful, but the pain has reduced from a 10+ to a 4! Perhaps your rheumatologist could give you a steroid shot in your knee …?