- Try to do some enjoyable things that will keep you busy. Small activities can give you energy and positive feelings. It’s important these things are fun or fulfilling.
- Try to do things that stimulate your mind. Activities that occupy your mind can help with loneliness.
- Think about doing a physical activity. Physical exercise can help with loneliness.
- Try to engage with the people you meet in your daily life. Trying to connect with the people you meet as you go about your day can be helpful.
- Find people that ‘get you’. Interacting with others that ‘get’ you can give you a sense of belonging that may be missing.
- Spend time with pets. If you are lucky enough to have a pet, it can be a great way of managing loneliness.
- Try to use social media in a positive way. The key is to use it in a positive way. Finding digital communities, you share interests and passions with can help.
- Talking therapies can help. Talking through your feelings with a counsellor or therapist can help you cope with your feelings of loneliness.
How to support other people who are feeling lonely:
- Don’t judge or stigmatize. It’s important not to judge or stigmatize people who feel lonely.
- Try to make groups welcoming to other people. It can be difficult for people who are feeling lonely to join a group like a club.
- Try to listen and show understanding. A great way to help a friend or family member is simply to listen.
Tips on how to reduce loneliness in later life:
- Find a green/blue space
- Connect online
- Exercise
- Social groups
- Take up a hobby
- Start or keep learning
- Volunteer
- Pet companionship
- Find a routine
- It’s good to talk
Source: Mental Health Foundation
Well done and inspiring! Let’s also not forget though what Blaise Pascal wrote in 1654: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”. Don’t seek for loneliness, but if you find it temporarily, live it through, will teach you a lot!