What Can I Do About My Loneliness 

One hundred years ago, almost no one lived alone. My grandmother never lived alone. Despite this, my mother lived alone and felt part of a community. Most of my friends live alone, but I prefer to live with someone. 

An article in the New York Times had this to say about loneliness. “In small doses, loneliness is like hunger or thirst, a healthy signal that you are missing something and to seek what you need. But prolonged over time, loneliness can be damaging not just to mental health, but also to physical health.” 

I find that comment exact and true. Prolonged loneliness must be avoided.

Books have been written on loneliness and should be read if you suffer from this problem. In this article, my sincerest desire is to give you some helpful tips and point you in the direction to a solution to your loneliness. 

An interesting paradox is that people are more connected through phones, social media, and Zoom, yet loneliness continues to rise. This is especially true among teenagers and young adults, who are the most digitally connected. 

Relationships are fragile. What do you do when changes happen? How do you get on with your life when friends get buried in work, buried physically, move away, find lovers, or change habits?

Be aware, isolation can begin with changes in your health, and your life can easily revolve around medical treatments. 

If you are lonely, you know it, right? Feeling lonely is a difficult emotion and not always easy to differentiate from other likely feelings.  Click here and take this short quiz to determine if you are experiencing some degree of loneliness.

Now that you have taken the quiz, let’s look at steps you can take to confront your loneliness and make your life brighter. 

Find ways to make authentic connections

Authentic connections are important, because someone can be surrounded by people on a city bus or at a concert, and feel disconnected. It’s about authentic connections. It’s a good idea to make friends, and find ways to meet people if you are not getting enough personal contact.

Join a class or group, and always include volunteering. If you are an introvert and don’t approach others easily, your hobby may be the answer. Do you read, knit, or play a musical instrument? Whatever your interest may be, there surely is someone on this planet and in your town that enjoys the same hobby. Seek the many ways to connect with them. Start with the internet.

Tell others who care about you how you are feeling.

Open up to start receiving the support you need. If others don’t know what is happening in your life, they can’t help you. Ask for help to get it. 

Take small steps 

Step out and attend small gatherings or meet one or two new people at a time in a comfortable setting. 

Check your health and well-being 

Check-in with yourself about how you are doing physically and mentally. Ask yourself some questions and notice the answers you receive. Are you stressed? Are you getting enough sleep? How is your diet? Should you see your doctor? If so, make that appointment.

Connect with nature

Exposure to nature will improve your health and well-being with a decrease in blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety level, relaxed muscle tension, and a better mood.

Be kind to yourself

Loneliness can make you feel life is passing you by. Treat yourself well. Get a massage, take a yoga class, learn to meditate, and treat yourself like you are special, which you are.

Small acts of kindness

If you are suffering from loneliness, small acts of kindness can turn into massive favors for your neighbor or someone who needs help. It could be walking their dog, taking out the trash, giving a caregiver a morning off, or driving someone to a medical appointment. The best way to find a friend is to be a friend. 

Plan and visualize it in action

Jot down your ideas to break out from loneliness. Plan. Once your plan is made, commence with visualizing, and seeing you in your plan going to an event, having a good time, and chatting with a different person. Visualizing will empower you to go forth and make your idea a reality.  Live the plan.

What can you do if you know someone is suffering from loneliness? Actually, my research has shown the best thing you can do for someone who is lonely is not to give them help, but to ask them for help. Asking gives them a sense of worth and a chance to be unselfish. 

Loneliness is not an emotion to be taken lightly, and it needs to be addressed and managed to reduce its impact physically and mentally. 

If you’re feeling lonely, do something about it. To confront your loneliness head-on, take the small steps outlined in this article.

Honor yourself!