Working full-time in a real job for the first time and feel like I'm living a tiny sliver of a life. I don't know how I can do this for the rest of my life. What are some strategies to cope with this part of my life??

I graduated college, got a retail job seasonal, am now living on my own and working full time in a better job with really good benefits. Like, the best a person could realistically ask for and certainly better than I could ever expect from a corporation. I get to sit when I work and I'm very grateful for that.

But I feel like I'm in a tiny jail cell and that my entire life is contained within the walls of that awful building. I'm too exhausted emotionally after work to really do anything (I work in face to face interaction literally all day long and I am introverted), so on 5/7 days of the week my life consists of nothing but working and sleeping. I'm trying to fill my cubicle with things that I like and I have an artificial sun lamp but that's not cutting it. I want to have time to spend with my dog, I want to go home and not feel exhausted, I want to work in my field, I don't want to spend 9 hours a day on the job.

I miss the freedom I had in college. There were breaks between classes where I could roam campus and collect my thoughts or go to the cafe. I know things will be different when I return to my own field, but I don't have that luxury right now. I get along well with my coworkers and I have a wonderful boss, I know I SHOULD like this job, but it's just soul-draining.

Aside from changing jobs, which isn't an option for me right now, is there any way for me to feel less utterly miserable and confined? PLEASE no answers that are just like 'welcome to the working world' or 'that's life, enjoy another 40 years of it'.

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