Wellness Wednesday: How To Tackle Loneliness

We all feel lonely sometimes for different reasons; it does not matter whether we have lots of people around us or have a lot of friends, as sometimes loneliness can come from within you and can make you feel isolated from others around you. It can be difficult to find those who can relate to your experience, as you end up feeling disconnected when you are not able to confide in anyone. However, that should not be the case, as there are many different resources available to help you and tackle the loneliness that you feel.

Managing loneliness requires you to be self-aware of how comfortable you are with something or how much pressure you can put on yourself. Everyone is different and although some ideas can work for a group of people, it does not mean that it can work for you too – different methods and techniques work for different people, remember that!

Some tips and suggestions according to mind.org.uk:

• Take it slow
• Make new connections
• Try peer support
• Try to open up
• Talking therapies
• Social care
• Be careful when comparing yourself to others
• Look after yourself

Feeling lonely can sometimes feel like these:

• “I feel like I’m not important to anyone.”
• “I feel like nobody needs me.”
• “I feel like I don’t really exist.”
• “I feel alone within myself.”
• “It feels safer to be alone – then I can’t get rejected.”
• “I feel numb when I feel lonely.”
• “I feel like I don’t have any meaningful relationships.”
• “I feel like I don’t have anyone to tell my good news to.”
• “I feel alone when I’m surrounded by people.”

It is important to understand that feeling alone is sometimes ok, we all feel it sometimes, the vital step after that realisation is to then get out of feeling this way, so some things you can do are:

• Join a club/class/course, volunteer and actively take part in your hobbies and interests, keep yourself busy
• Find support online and connect with others
• Strengthen existing relationships, you have many people in your life, talk to them!
• Adopt a pet – why not?
• Practice self-care
• See a therapist