Loneliness

Humans are social beings, but being alone isn’t always a bad thing as it gives us time to contemplate, make decisions and spend time focussing upon ourselves. Going for walks, sitting in a park or a garden, or just being at home listening to your favourite music or reading a book, can give us the space to address our own needs or contemplate difficult decisions facing us. It allows us time to make sense of our problems and see a way forward.

However, having some kind of social connection is also important – talking to family, friends, or neighbours, or participating in social group activities like sports or special interest clubs. Volunteering or even learning a new skill can reconnect us to like-minded people and improve our daily lives.

It may sound simplistic, but for some this is a huge mountain to climb. Overcoming loneliness, which can be experienced by anyone of any age or background, can be immensely challenging yet with the right support it is definitely achievable.

Loneliness can lead to intense feelings of isolation and disconnection from others, and long-term loneliness has also been shown to affect our physical health. Loneliness can be a product of losing someone or an animal, or moving away from family and friends, often encountering difficulties in re-establishing social ties to our community.

Throughout the pandemic many of us experienced some form of loneliness for the first time, leading us to become creative when working out how to better our situations and establish change. The internet played a huge part of maintaining our social connections or simply helping us to feel connected to the outside world. Making new connections, either in-person or online, has been shown to improve our self-esteem, self-worth, and can strengthen our sense of purpose or meaning.

Counselling is a great place to start to address your concerns.

For further information:

https://toolkit.lifeline.org.au/topics/loneliness/what-is-loneliness

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/loneliness-isolation-mental-health