We live in an era of self-isolation: 5 effective ways to get rid of loneliness

It has been proven that loneliness affects our health as negatively as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or obesity. And given that the population is steadily aging, the negative effect on humanity in this regard will only increase.

"What is loneliness?" asks the Your Tango website. In fact, it is difficult to give a precise definition to this phenomenon because it is very individual and subjective. This was reported by SSPDaily.

For example, for one person, meeting a friend once a week is enough to avoid feeling lonely, while for another, this level of communication plunges them into depression.

Why do we feel lonely?

In a sense, loneliness exists only in the mind, because of the discrepancy between what is desired and what is real, what a person has in his or her life and what he or she would like to have.

At the same time, people can actively socialize and still be lonely. This is mainly due to the superficiality of relationships and lack of coherence.

Thus, when it comes to getting rid of loneliness, both the quantity and quality of communication play an important role.

How to cope with loneliness? Follow the tips below and you will quickly feel connected to other people.

Start with yourself

Meditate. Sitting down for a moment and listening to your inner world can have a much stronger impact on feelings of disconnection than you might have thought. Getting rid of loneliness ultimately comes down to making connections. And if you want to connect with others, you must first learn to connect with yourself.

Give more often than you take

Give what you want to receive the most. For example, if you think you are not being listened to, pay attention to how you listen to others. The same applies to other areas of life, including loneliness.

So if you want to have more friends, be a good friend to others. If you want the friends you've already made to genuinely support you, set an example.

Become what you wish you had and see how quickly your life changes. However, to do this, you will also have to overcome your own ego, which only wants to receive and give nothing.

Become the initiator of communication

Organize weekly dinners for friends and acquaintances with whom you want to meet more often. Loneliness is not only your problem, but also the problem of the whole society. And it is exacerbated by the fact that everyone wants to communicate, but few people want to organize the process.

Do some volunteering

One of the most common pieces of advice that people suffering from chronic depression receive is to volunteer. And it's not without reason.

When we have a hard time, we drown in our thoughts and become more aware of our loneliness because we are too close to our own problems.

Volunteering is a great way to avoid falling into this "abyss" while benefiting the community. There are plenty of opportunities for this around, if only you had the desire.

The main thing is to make sure that what you are doing is meaningful to you personally and give it your best shot.

Become a member of regular social clubs

People who suffer from loneliness need to look for social "niches" in which they can build in permanent commitments to them. In this way, you can say yes to one social project, but in reality, you will say yes to 52 social events a year (if it is a weekly group).

The recipe in this case is simple: find a group of common interests in your neighborhood (city) and participate in it.

In general, live for others, not for yourself. Become a social center yourself and make your "fire" so that people can easily find it. Everything else will come naturally.