Loneliness is the state of being alone and feeling sad about it or is it an opportunity to go out and meet new people?
During this time of a pandemic, going out and meeting new people is not an option. Many people are suffering from anxiety, depression and loneliness. This situation is turning out to be taking a toll on the mental health of a number of people and in our country, degrading mental health is not an issue that is taken into much consideration. We’ll all just get over it, am I right? Only a few people realize the fact that these problems are serious and need help.
As Carl Jung said-”Loneliness does not come from having no one around us but instead not being able to communicate the things that matter most to us.”
Being alone is not equal to being lonely. Being alone means you are not having someone around you physically at that particular moment and being lonely means that you have no one to share your thoughts to or no one to talk out loud when you want to.
Feeling lonely is like being in a dark place and thinking that it’s going to last for eternity. It’s like being in the company of a hundred people and still feeling invisible. It’s like sitting among a group of people and still not being able to become a part of a conversation, even though you have a thousand number of things to say. It’s the feeling of being unwanted.
The worst thing about being lonely is that people tend to start wondering what is wrong with them and they start beating themselves up with this question only to find out later it isn’t their fault in the very first place. These kind of questions lead to self destructive behavior which in turn is another problem that is completely neglected. Now how many of us have seen people with cuts on their hands or wounds on their body? It is a problem increasing day by day and is only going to rise more if not taken seriously.
Loneliness is not something that can be cured with medicines. This era that is full fledged devoted to social networking being the solution to everything is creating even more chaos into lonely minds that we can even realize. This situation isn’t incurable as well. Every question has an answer and the question- What to do when I feel lonely? has many answers as well.
Challenge your inner critic- Pessimistic behavior might lead you to be stuck in this cycle forever. What you need to do is to challenge yourself and force yourself into having positive thoughts like this isn’t going to last for eternity or after every stormy night, there comes a bright and sunny morning. You need to tell yourself that there is nothing wrong with you and look into the mirror to find things you love about yourself. Before you try to find other people, maybe try talking to yourself first.
Take steps to break free from isolation- Try to trace back the last time you were able to communicate with someone and find out what might’ve triggered this feeling in the very first place. Try to analyse what makes you feel the most lonely and the least. I don’t think I need to clarify which of these analysed activities you need to do more in order to make yourself feel better.
Find people you like talking to- Now this might sound stupid, but make a list comprising of the people you like talking to and try to reach out to them. They could be anyone, your parents, relatives or friends. Try talking to them.
Practice Generosity- Even a little amount of generosity might have a large impact on your condition. We have all heard the famous saying- You get what you give. It is a natural repellent against self-hatred. You need to believe that you have something good to offer. This might get you a bit optimistic and hence improve your condition to some extent.
Although loneliness might feel like a dark place, believe that it will pass if you make an effort towards removing it from your life. Reach out for help if you need to. You are not the only one suffering from it.
