7 Steps to Banish Feelings of Loneliness

Re-connect With Life Using These Simple Tips

Everyone feels lonely from time to time. But if you are feeling alone all the time, take this opportunity to change those feelings. Humans are naturally social, so feeling isolated from others can have a negative impact on your emotional wellbeing. Anyone can be lonely. The typical image of loneliness is an older person home alone all day everyday. But loneliness can strike even those surrounded by others. That's because loneliness is about the quality of your social connections to others, not the quantity.

The good news is that beating loneliness is easily within your power. Try the tips below to banish loneliness for good.

1) What makes you feel lonely?

If you feel lonely, it's worth thinking about exactly why you feel this way. Because finding the reasons for your feelings can help you to find the solutions. It also moves you from being stuck within the negative emotions of loneliness to thinking about them rationally. Are you lonely because you never see anyone? Are you lonely because you don't have a partner? Are you lonely because the people who surround you don't understand or care about you? Once you've identified which reason applies to you, then you can begin to solve the issue.

2) Share you feelings with someone

The first step to breaking the cycle of loneliness is to share your feelings with a trusted person. A family member, a friend, a neighbour, a helpline operator. Tell somebody how you're feeling and ask for them to help. Don't expect this person to solve all your problems, though - that's for you to work on. But opening up to somebody is the best way to begin.

3) Engage with others

When you feel lonely, you might shy away from engaging with others because you aren't feeling your best. This just compounds the loneliness! So be brave and go out of your way to engage with others. Speak to a neighbour or a person in the supermarket, phone the friend or family member you haven't spoken to in ages. Re-establish contact with your social circle. Of course engaging with others always comes with a risk. Perhaps you'll catch them at an awkward moment and they will be bad tempered with you, or they will reject you. But it's a risk you have take in order to beat loneliness. So open yourself up to social interaction and be prepared to persevere.

4) Be optimistic

Know that you don't have to be lonely. You can reconnect with others. The changes you need to make are easily achievable. Shift into the mindset of always seeing the best in a situation, rather than the worst. There are very few situations where no positives can be found - or created. Also, think about the connections or affection you do receive but take for granted. Can you stop to chat with the neighbour who always says 'hello'? If you want more from people, you have to instigate it rather than expecting others to do the work.

5) Keep active

A busy mind is less likely to be filled with lonely thoughts. So pack your day with different kinds of activities. From walking, to talking on the phone, to reading a novel, to an exercise class, to cooking or baking - anything to keep you busy. Join a local group - a walking club, a book club, a crafts club or volunteer for a local charity to get you socialising.

6) Learn something new

Knowledge is a great antidote to loneliness. So take a free online class in a subject that interests you. Or read up on a subject or learn a practical skill. The get out there and talk about what you've learned with others.

7) Love yourself

One of the reasons for loneliness is not loving yourself. If you feel inadequate or unlovable, you will find it difficult to allow yourself to get close to others. So start at the beginning - with yourself. Take care of your needs, do things that make you feel happy, socialise with those who raise your self esteem, avoid those who lower it. Know that you are worthy of affection and company. Most of all take action. Even a small start will get the ball rolling to stamping out loneliness.