5 Wellness Tips for When You Feel Alone

Throughout a huge part of my life, I walked the line between lonely and alone. One is wonderful, the other? Not so much. I started living on my own when I was 19 and I didn’t start living with anyone else until I was 32. So that was 13 years coming home to absolutely nobody.

There were days when it was horrible and there were also days when it was like magic.

But right now we’re living through a pandemic and so many of us are being forced into alone-ness and loneliness is a natural side-effect. So that’s talk about some things you should keep in mind if you’re struggling right now.

5 Wellness Tips for When You Feel Lonely

Find Something That You Enjoy

I can’t stress this one enough. When my second relationship ended I struggled with loneliness to an extreme amount. I’d gone from having someone fill up my days to coming home every day after work to my computer and gaming.

So I started spending time in the park writing as I watched squirrels play around me. I took a weekly walk to my favorite coffee/donut shop. I sat outside and meditated.

Finding joy in the little things can help you cope.

Work Through Your Unhealthy Coping Skills

Loneliness has always been a trigger for me. When you have depression it’s so difficult to be stuck alone in your head with no one else to distract you and that’s definitely something I struggled with.

So even though it’s hard, being able to say to yourself “I’m feeling lonely and it’s making me want to do xyz.” is so important. Whether that thing is binge eating, calling an ex, smoking, drinking alone, or anything else that isn’t for your greater good – pay attention to those unhealthy coping skills and then do your best to change them into something more positive.

Stay In Touch With Your Friends

If the hardest thing about being alone is that you enjoy the company of others, there are lots of great ways to be around people without actually having to be around people.

• Set up a weekly Zoom call with your friends or family
• Do a Netflix Watch Party of your favorite show
• Get an app where you can play games against each other (I like the Card Party app and SkipBo!)
• Virtual dinner parties or streaming yourselves cooking a new recipe at the same time 

For inspiration when it comes to connecting with people online, you can visit this site here. 

Start A New Hobby 

Find a new thing that you’re super passionate about and that can serve as a container for all of that energy that you have built up inside of you.

And then I started my self-love journey. And all that advice was “find hobbies” so I decided to do just that. I tried so many hobbies (one of them was writing this blog!). I did jigsaw puzzles, went on walks, took online courses about embracing creativity, started crocheting, painting, drawing, writing, jogging, bike riding, sitting in the park reading… and some of those things I liked more than others but figuring it out for myself was so nourishing.

This blog was created because I was lonely and working on myself and I wanted a place where I could share those experiences. Here are some tips and tricks when it comes to starting your own creative business.

Practice Self-Care As Often As You Can

Finally, you need to be sure you’re practicing self-care as often as you can. Whether that’s running yourself a hot bath or watching your favorite movie, or calling your therapist.

Self-care is important. Your mental health is important. Your loneliness is valid.

With lots of great tips to bear in mind, you can be sure you’re doing all that you can to put your mental health first. What else could you do? Did we miss anything important off of the list? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.