Dear Reader, This is For When You Feel Lonely
The WHO recognises loneliness as a growing health issue in the world. Loneliness is now defined as a public health issue and is an issue all over the world, across genders, ages, and races. It is likely to become a public health crisis in some countries.
Loneliness has been attributed to many health issues such as increased heart problems, problems with sleep, higher stroke risk, and many more consequences. By nature, humans are social creatures and it is important that we stay in touch with the people around us.
In a world where individualisation may often be extremely glamourised or prioritised, we may often lose touch with our common humanity with others. On top of the idea of individualism, an increase in instances of pandemics and lockdowns is also potential for communities to be further split apart. Moreover, social media algorithms heavily influence how you might see the world compared to your peers leading to a more divided world than ever before.
We might notice unwanted feelings of rejection, feeling lonely, or upset that no one in the world might truly understand us. Other times, we might feel like there is no one in our community that we can turn to for help or that no one in our community will be there to offer support. Some of us might have experienced relationships with people that might have turned sour and we might wish to mend those relationships but it might seem like a tumultuous task and that holds us back.
This article is for you if you have been feeling out of touch with humanity or dejected and lonely. Here are some things you could try to reconnect with people around you.
#1: Engage in a New Hobby or Volunteer
This is the best way to meet like-minded individuals on a consistent basis. Engaging in a hobby that requires socialisation on a weekly basis is a great ground to develop friendships. Moreover, the perks of this is that if you are a little introverted or shy you do not have to stress too much about small talk as you and your potential friends will be bonding over the activity at hand.
Volunteering is also another way that you can not only meet new people but also learn more about yourself and how you think and see the world. By digging deeper within, you may become more self-aware. More often than not, you might be able to teach yourself how to reconnect with your community the way you deem best for yourself. Books, articles, websites, experts, anyone can give you tips and tricks but it is via introspection that we can learn the most!
As Gandhi said, ‘the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others’.
#2: Reach Out to an Old Friend :)
This can be scary but if you look at the statistics you never know if your old friend that you haven’t spoken to in 5 years might be feeling the same way as you are. There are perks to social media where you can find your friend on social media dn drop them a DM to meet up for a coffee or maybe even invite them to try out your new hobby or join you in volunteering.
Engaging in an activity to reconnect with an old friend is a fantastic way to reconnect. My personal favourite is board game nights!
#3: Engage in Somatic Work
As mentioned, looking within ourselves might be a great way to understand ourselves better and this can infinitely impact our relationships with others positively. One method that can be used to help us recognise behavioural patterns that we have is psychosomatic therapy.
Somatic Work involves mind-body modalities, with a blend of talk therapy, encompassing approaches from East-West therapies that are backed by science. It is suitable for deepening body-mind awareness, managing chronic pain, emotional regulation, tension release, trauma processing, and exploration of interventions for medically unexplained physiological symptoms.
Somatic Work incorporates body-oriented modalities such as breath work, compassion approaches, grounding, movement, mindfulness approaches, and visualisation to support you through your healing journey.
While loneliness is a growing issue in our world today, it is with hope that we can say that it is a solvable issue. If you know someone around you dealing with this challenging problem, do not be afraid to reach out and share this article. Lending out a helping hand and checking in on each other can go a long way. Send a check-in message to a long-lost friend or a peer today, you never know how this could multiply and have a positive butterfly effect on everyone in your community!
