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?
Keeping busy - Try something new and experiment, you may find that you enjoy something you've never tried. Try something in a group or at a club like an in person yoga session (if that's your jam) though you don't speak during the class, you'll feel amazing connection to others by being in the room the energy just hits different. Not only that, you'll get a chance to speak to the others after the class. Your thing could be a book club, an art class, an evening language class, it could even be on zoom. Think outside the box.
Keep your mind active - Learning gives us a great sense of fulfilment and achievement and nowadays we have such a huge scope in ways we can learn, like listening to podcasts (educational or not) taking online courses. Learning a new skill such as cooking.
Move your body - Physical movement and exercise is incredibly beneficial when it comes to mental health because it gets us out of our heads and into our body. Even just a gentle walk, daily if you can helps keep us from feeling too overwhelmed. You could go for a bike ride, dance around your bedroom, or try a new fitness class and make some new friends too, (YouTube is also great for this)
Fury friends - Nothing is better than having a fury friend (or perhaps reptilian is more your thing) when it comes to tackling loneliness and out overall mental health. Studies have proven how much animals help us when life just feels too much. The connection and bond humans have with dogs, cats etc is quite something and incredibly special. If you have a pet, you'll know what I'm talking about. When it comes to getting a pet, make sure you have time for it and feel that love ooze!
Online connection - Social media generally gets a bad rep, but it doesn't have to be all bad when you use it in a positive and fulfilling way. Don't get sucked into drama or bad news. Follow people that inspire and motivate you to be a better person, that are real and genuine. Avoid anything that doesn't make you feel good about yourself or your life and avoid comparison at all costs! You could join groups of topics you're interested in and make conversation with those who share your interests, just don't fall down a rabbit hole and spend hours consuming things that have no benefit to you.
Seek help - Talk to someone who gets you, like a therapist, coach or councillor. Talk about how you feel, it could be deeper rooted issues that need bringing to the surface or you may just want guidance on how to navigate through life in a much more positive light as well as being given tools in how to tackle when things may resurface.
Take that positive action to become the best version of yourself, for yourself and watch everything else divinely fall into place.
If you'd like a free discovery call with me to see how we can work together use the link below to book yourself in 💚
Have a great week,
Laura