Coping with Loneliness and Isolation

Over the past few years, since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, isolation and loneliness have become a huge factor in people’s declining mental health across our country.  With remote work and remote learning, many of us are spending much more time at home by ourselves.  But it’s not just spending time by ourselves that gets us down.   We can be surrounded by people, but if we aren’t connecting to those people authentically, we can feel even lonelier.  With social media and cell phones always distracting us, many of us may have a lot of “friends”, but find that we lack real social connection.

Loneliness and isolation have really significant impacts on our mental health.  Humans are social creatures, so our brain responds positively to healthy social connections, which in turn decreases symptoms of depression and anxiety.  Having a strong sense of community or family support can boost our self-esteem and help us feel more confident, appreciated, and valued.  On the other hand, isolation can cause us to get stuck in an “echo chamber” of our own negative thoughts and is more likely to result in anxiety. 

So what can we do to help ourselves cope with feelings of loneliness or social isolation? I have some ideas:

-          Look for opportunities to be engaged in your community through social groups, religious organizations, or volunteer opportunities.  Meeting like-minded people helps us realize that we are not alone.

-          Find online opportunities to engage if in-person options don’t exist for you.  I’ve met a lot of really great people through virtual classes and online groups and these can be important lifelines to the outside world.

-          Find ways to enjoy solitude.  If you have to be alone, find activities that you can enjoy alone- like reading, art, exercise, puzzles, etc.  Being alone doesn’t always have to mean feeling lonely.  We can train ourselves to be more comfortable with being alone.

Have you done something recently that helped bring you out of your shell?  I’d love to hear what worked for you! Share in the comments!