How to deal with loneliness

Recently I’ve been feeling very alone. It makes me want to sleep all the time because it hurts. Its gotten to the point where im looking all over online for a chance at someone to at least acknowledge that I exist. It makes me a little happy but I hate that. I don’t want to be that attention seeker. But i feel empty

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You’re not an attention seeker, friend. It’s okay to need to be acknowledged by others, especially by those you love. Knowing that we are seen, heard, cared for, is part of what allows us to feel connected to others, to this world. It helps to feel less alone, isolated or lost.

You are not out of this world. You’re absolutely part of it, even if you feel alone right now. You are alive, you are here, you’re existing right now. I understand though. With covid, I’ve been having some moments when I’ve been feeling pretty alone. To the point of having this pain in the chest and crying too easily. The things that helped me to reduce this feeling was 1/ Trying to connect to others, effectively and 2/ Trying to enjoy the time when I’m alone by taking care of myself. So, here are a few thoughts, hopefully it could help:

  • Reaching out to your family, friends or relatives in general. It could be just a matter of sending a text, a quick message and ask how they’re doing. You could propose to spend some time with them or have a call/video call with them (I don’t know your situation precisely, sorry if it’s off-topic). Or even write letters! To your beloved ones or for a non-profit initiative.
  • Connecting to different Twitch streams. Personally I’m generally very anxious so most of the time I lurk. But it feels good to at least say hi in chat and listen to a stream in the background. It helps to feel less alone, to hear and read the conversations, and even participate in those! If you want, you can have a look at the HeartSupport streamers team here: https://www.twitch.tv/team/heartsupportnetwork There’s a lot of different kind of streams here, and certainly some that you would enjoy! There will be a stream on the DanMakesHisMark channel in about half an hour, at twitch.tv/danmakeshismark if you’re interested (sorry if you’re already used to go there). Feel free to join!
  • Finding an online community based on a hobby. For example… I love crochet. And I’m part of an online community dedicate to this activity, where people share about there creations, experiences, and even initiate different kind of challenges.
  • Online video games? There’s plenty of choice now depending on which kind of game you would appreciate - if you like video games, of course! You can even try online board games, or quizz, etc. Just a quick research on Google could help.
  • Going outside. Having a walk everyday. It doesn’t have to be very long. But at least you’d be outside, crossing the road of others, saying hello, seeing all the activity… It’s basically about acknowledging the life outside and allowing yourself to feel more connected to it.
  • Self-care. A lot. I understand the temptation of sleeping to avoid reality. It can help, but it can be unhealthy too. What about taking some real “me” time everyday? To take the time to have a breakfast you enjoy, read a book you like, listen to your favorite music and dance as you want, having a bath or a warm shower, taking care of a plant, watching your favorite TV shows, being creative depending on what you’d like. Coloring has been very relaxing to me. It took a couple of days for me to really feel relaxed thanks to this. And if I didn’t feel alone, I’d certainly never tried this before. Maybe it’s time for you to try something new too. :slight_smile:

I know we’re just strangers at this point, but I see you. And that comes from someone who’s living certainly far away from you right now. Yet we’re lucky enough to live in a time when we have all of this technology to keep us all connected to each other. It’s different for sure. It requires us to actually reach out, to discuss with others, to think about new ways to interact (for example: yes, it’s possible to watch a movie with someone on Discord, or Skype, or anything, and it’s really cool!).

I’m sorry you feel alone. Know that you’re not.
And you are so, so loved. :hrtlegolove:

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