How to deal with loneliness

Step 1. Realization

First, you need to realize that there is a problem. Think about how long you've been feeling lonely and how it started. Try to isolate other emotions associated with feelings of loneliness. Think about your physical condition: whether you are suffering from insomnia, are you gasping for breath, are you feeling pain in your chest - all this can be associated with a feeling of loneliness.

Step 2. Acceptance

Lonely people often try to escape their emotions. They dive headlong into work, books, movies or video games, just to avoid being alone with themselves. However, all this helps to avoid negative emotions only for a short time.

Another way to escape is to try to find the reason why you are alone. A person may think that he will get rid of an oppressive feeling as soon as he understands what the reason is and will change everything. But usually there is simply no such reason. Instead of running away from the problem, you need to accept it and allow yourself to fully experience the loneliness.

Step 3. Empathy

Remind yourself constantly that people around you can feel lonely too. This is a natural part of the human experience. We all suffer from loneliness from time to time. Try to take a detached view of yourself and empathize with yourself the way you would empathize with other people.

If you have loved ones who are willing to support you, take courage and talk to them about how you feel, even if it seems very silly. Having a trusting conversation will help you understand that you are not really alone.

Loneliness also has its benefits: it can serve as a signal that your relationships with others are not really satisfying to you, and make you rethink them. In addition, feeling lonely teaches us to empathize with other people in similar situations.