Most of us feel lonely from time to time; there are days when the pressure of work or home life, and the feeling of being overwhelmed and alone can be overwhelming. But for people struggling with chronic loneliness, there are strategies to help you manage and overcome these feelings for improved emotional and mental wellness. In this article, we explore ways to cope with loneliness and find renewed peace and inner strength.
1. Unpacking the Emotional Weight of Loneliness
At first glance, loneliness can appear to be a trivial emotion; however, packing in it can be burdensomely heavy. Here are a few of the many weights that loneliness can carry:
- Fear of being isolated and misunderstood
- Regret over decisions that have caused a sense of abandonment
- Dread of the future, feeling that no-one cares and no-one will come to your help
- Lost faith in meaningful relationships
These emotions are powerful; so, while you are struggling with loneliness, it’s important to keep in mind that you are not alone in this journey. Many people encounter loneliness due to changes in their lives or even for seemingly no reason at all. The truth of the matter is that even if no one is around you, there are always people there to feel, understand, and empathize with you. Reach out to your family, friends or even a professional for support.
2. Finding Compassion Through Practising Self Care
Self-care is an important element to the pursuit of compassionate living. All too often, we find ourselves completely neglecting our own mental and emotional needs in favour of appeasing those around us. This can prove to be highly detrimental to our state of wellbeing and our ability to be genuinely compassionate. In order to be able to extend compassion to others, we must learn to be kind and understanding to ourselves first.
- Start values-based reflection and set boundaries. Take some time to reflect upon your values and how those values are impacted by particular environments and relationships. Set boundaries for yourself to protect your values and ensure that you are always being genuine with your care and loyalty.
- Prioritise self-care measures. Make an effort to ensure that you are looking after your own physical, mental and emotional needs, no matter what is happening in your environment. Whether it be reserving time for a relaxing bubble bath, practising yoga or taking a nature walk, do whatever it takes to make sure that you are being treated with compassion.
- Practise presence: Focus on the moment to enjoy the simplicity of being present. Being aware of your environment and experiencing it moment by moment can bring about a sense of calm and a deeper connection to self-compassion.
By practising self-care on a regular basis, you will be able to cultivate a greater sense of compassion for yourself, thus allowing you to extend more genuine loving kindness to the people around you. Acknowledging and tending to your own needs is the most crucial step towards discovering compassionate living.
3. Connecting With Others: A Surefire Way to Shake Loneliness
One of the most effective ways to fight loneliness is to connect with others. There are a few different methods for doing this, all of which can help shake off any feelings of loneliness:
- Connecting with Family and Friends: This can be done through text messages, calls, or even video calls. All these methods help create meaningful connections with people that matter to you.
- Volunteering: Volunteering in events or charities can help provide a sense of purpose and build connections with like-minded people.
- Developing an Interest: Finding something that sparks your interest and joining an organization for it can help you find friends who have similar passions.
- Being Open: During conversations, actively share your beliefs, opinions, and experiences. This can be quite empowering and help create strong bonds with others.
Creating meaningful connections is key for overcoming loneliness. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and make meaningful connections with others. Connecting with others can help to reduce any loneliness we might feel and remind us that we are not alone.
4. Harnessing Your Creativity To Navigate Loneliness
We’ve all felt lonely in our lives, but it doesn’t mean it has to take a toll on our wellness and creativity. Alone time can be a great opportunity for us to step back and refocus on our creative activities – allowing us to gain better insight into our own minds and motivations. Here are some practical ways to explore and increase our creative output when feeling lonely.
- Try something new: Discovery can be a great pathway to creative expression. Pick up a different hobby or art form and explore it. This can be a great way to meet people who may already have the same level of interest or understanding in the activity and can eventually lead to friendship and community.
- Be patient with yourself: As an individual, everyone has their own pace and rhythm. Don’t be too hard on yourself when working on creative projects. Take your time and appreciate the progress that you are making.
- Execute on your ideas: Everyone has ideas they’d like to implement, but it’s important to actually do the work of taking action on them. Creative ideas must be put into practice to be seen and experienced. Even if it’s a small first step, it counts for something.
- Experiment: Explore any feedback or criticism you receive to make improvements or alterations to your creative venture. Layer on new elements, change up the style, and let your project take its own shape.
Harnessing creativity while dealing with loneliness can be an effective outlet for our emotions and ideas. Taking a step back can not only improve one’s craft, but it also allows for personal growth and development.
5. Honoring Your Feelings and Allowing Yourself To Grieve
Grieving is an important part of the healing process. It’s a critical step in gracefully accepting hard truths and allowing yourself to move forward. Here are five tips to help you acknowledge and honor your feelings in the most meaningful way:
- Allow yourself to openly express your emotions. Don’t suppress the tears, the surprise, the sorrow, the joy — whatever comes up, let it out.
- Acknowledge all of the different emotions you’re experiencing. Grief is made up of complex feelings — including love, anger, guilt and regret.
- Don’t seek interruption —create a space for yourself to fully process your emotions in whatever way feels best.
- Remember that there’s no timetable for grief. Take your time in healing, and accept your feelings as they come.
- Do something to honor the relationship. Whether you write a letter, make a donation in memoriam, or keep part of what they left behind, cherish your connection in meaningful ways.
Pain is inevitable — it’s part of our experience of life. But it becomes less of a burden when we figure out how to honor it. Grieving can feel overwhelming, but by creating space and allowing yourself to feel the emotions, it becomes a more manageable process. Take the time to honor your grieving mind, body, and soul — and know that the healing will come in its own time.
6. Choosing Positive Outlets To Manage Your Mental Wellbeing
Mental health can be hard to manage and it’s important to find ways to restore balance. Positive outlets can help you maintain your mental wellbeing and act as forms of stress relief. Here are some great outlets to consider.
Exercise: Exercise is one of the best outlets for managing your mental wellbeing. It is proven to reduce stress and anxiety and improve your mood. Not to mention, exercising releases endorphins, which are hormones that make us naturally happy.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness is a great tool for managing mental wellbeing. Practicing mindfulness involves being aware and present in the present moment. This is a great outlet for dispelling negative thoughts and replacing them with positive and calming ones.
Creative Outlets: Creative outlets can be an incredibly powerful form of self-expression and provide a nutritious way of managing your mental wellbeing. You can choose from activities like painting and writing, dance or any other form of self-expression you find enjoyable.
Talking/Counseling: Talking to someone is always a great form of stress relief. This could be talking to a close friend or family member or going for counseling. Talking through and understanding thoughts and emotions with a professional can provide insight and clarity and help lead to better mental wellbeing.
Social Support:Reaching out to friends and family is a great way to manage mental wellbeing. Despite being physically distant, many of us are now even more connected, so taking advantage of these connections and meeting virtually is an effective way to alleviate stress and dispelling negative thoughts.
Living with loneliness is a challenge. Everyone experiences loneliness differently, but the strategies outlined here can help you take practical steps to improve your mental and emotional wellness on a daily basis. Remember, there is always hope for building meaningful connections and relationships. Work on connecting with yourself and touch base with those who are important to you. With the right amount of self-care, there will be brighter days ahead.
