I really feel for you all in your loneliness. Having no one to share your days (& nights) makes for an extra burden on your illness.
In the last 5 years, I felt more alone in my full time working life than I do today (in retirement due to chronic pain & ill health).
When working, no one shared my pain.
No one understood what it was like to hover on the surface of life. Most people subscribe to the idea that you can just take a pill, or spend a few days in bed to recover. They don't understand what it's like, to not have those options as a treatment.
It was like I was on the outside of the world, looking in.
Because everyone at work was healthy & spent their day talking about their "normal" lives - shopping, leisure activities, overseas holidays, buying this & that (which I could not afford with the load of medical bills & certainly did not have the energy for).
More & more as the years rolled on, I withdrew from their company & eventually it got to the stage where they rarely included me in anything much. They even had meetings in the meeting room, & my Boss said, Vicki you don't need to come to this meeting about "xyz" function, because I know you won't attend anyway.
So I guess I'm saying that, being in a room full of people, can still be lonely.
So, surprisingly, this new life (non-working) has brought me more in touch with a couple of people who I never had the energy to be with before.
I have the time & energy to stop & have a real conversation with a shop assistant.
I know many members are housebound & can't get out & so remain "invisible" to the rest of the world.
I REALLY do think chronic illness places you in another dimension. It places you in a world apart.
I do hope the summer brings you all some relief on the other side of the world. If you're not already taking some & can afford it, perhaps Vitamin D supplementation through the winter months might help.
Sunshine really does lighten your mood & uplift your spirits.
In the meantime, I can only sympathise with you & urge you not to lose Hope (for a brighter, healthier future one day).