Mental Health Awareness Week - 10 ways to combat loneliness 💚
The theme this year is loneliness, this post will highlight loneliness as well as giving tips to get through and manage those difficult times.
Loneliness has certainly been more prevalent since the pandemic hit in 2020. Many of us isolated from our loved ones, never before did we appreciate human connection so much and I believe it brought to our awareness just how fundamental it is.
It can be difficult to speak up when you're feeling overwhelmingly lonely because you don't want to cause a fuss or seem like a burden, which actually just adds to the feeling of loneliness. There's also stereotypes around people that are lonely like being a 'loser' for example, making it increasingly difficult to do anything about for the individual suffering.
Everyone feels lonely from time to time and that's completely normal, however when loneliness starts to become more severe and seemingly unescapable it begins to seriously impact your mental health and lead to much more serious problems such as depression. So here I'll share tips on how to get out of this bout, or prevent getting there all together.
10 ways to combat loneliness
Journal - Sit with the emotions and feelings of loneliness first, before trying to distract or avoid it, which will only make it worse in the long run. Write down how you're feeling, what loneliness means, get it all out on paper. Allow yourself to feel all the feelings, cry if you need to.
Joy - Write down a list of all the things you enjoy, the things that make you happy, then choose something off the list when you're feeling lonely.
Get outside! - Getting outdoors is underrated. Getting out for a walk and fresh air does us more good than we realise, aim to be mindful rather than dwelling and ruminating on your thoughts. Take note of everything around you like what you can see, hear, smell etc. To combat feelings of loneliness, try to go for a walk somewhere with people like a park where people will be out walking their dogs, smiling at 'strangers' goes a long way! You may even stop for small talk, ask if you can pet their dog to ignite conversation.
Call a loved one - There will be at least one person who you will be able to send a message to or call, reach out, what's the worst that can happen?
Ke