Are you feeling lonely
as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Do you feel cut off emotionally
from family and friends because of the lockdown?
Do you know the
feelings of loneliness can adversely affect your health?
The Dangers Of Loneliness
Loneliness can impact
on your mental health and your overall well-being if you don’t deal with it. It
can adversely affect your cardiovascular and immune systems.
So what can you do to
cope? Here are some tips to help you deal with loneliness during this period of
COVID-19.
Accept
Reality
Most human beings
thrive on routine and predictability. We want to spend time with the same
friends. We want to feel that we’re loved always. We want those we love to give
us attention when we need it. When there is a disruption of our routines and
our expectations are not met, we start to feel lonely.
No doubt you’d like to
spend time with people or feel loved or feel that others give you attention,
but that is simply not possible now. So just choose to enjoy life’s process. Just
accept the reality of the coronavirus and avoid thinking, “No one has time for
me.”
Plan
In Advance How To Deal With Loneliness
Do you have a plan to
deal with your loneliness? If you don’t, consider the times when you may feel
lonely. Then write out a detailed action plan in which you specify at least 10 things you’ll do immediately you start to feel
lonely.
Having a predetermined
plan can significantly increase your ability to cope—when you anticipate those
times in advance, you will have mentally and emotionally prepared to deal with
it since you’ve already contemplated it arising. When the feeling of loneliness
kicks in, you’d just be encountering what was part of the original plan and so
managing it will be easy.
Use
Lonely Moments To Help You Discover Yourself
Some of us are so busy
trying to win the approval of others and trying to meet what others expect of
us that we don’t have time to consider who we are. We’re happy to live the life
of “who people want us to be”.
Each time you feel
lonely, you are presented with an opportunity to discover your true self. Take advantage of this period of COVID-19 and
just stop and look within.
Ask yourself
soul-searching questions, “Who am I? What are my values? How can I use my
talents to develop myself? How can I inspire myself and fulfill my dreams? What
lessons can I learn from the COVID-19 pandemic? How must I change my
perspective about myself and how I view life?”
When you consider your
loneliness as a source of refreshment and enlightenment rather than an enemy,
you will open the door to your unexplored potential.
Focus
On The Positive
Sometimes we feel
lonely because we refuse to see that we can make something meaningful out of
even bad situations such as COVID-19 and its fallouts.
However, changing your
perspective and viewing loneliness not as something negative, but as an opportunity to grow, can
help you feel less lonely.
Growth requires change.
Growth chooses to see possibilities in uncomfortable situations. So start to
see possibilities—think about the fact that you can do things during this
lockdown that you couldn’t do hitherto, such as spending time with family. Start
seeing online business possibilities. Start
seeing possibilities for new friendships.
Nostalgize
About Happy Moments
I suffer from a disease
that makes it impossible for me to socialize. I spend day after day in the
house away from friends and most family members.
Furthermore, it is
impossible for me to communicate with people for long periods because of the
disease. As a result, I experience loneliness often—I suffer frequent bouts of
loneliness which tears to the core of my heart and makes me feel as though I’m
not part of the world.
However, when I’m
feeling lonely, I recall great moments I’ve spent with friends or schoolmates, and
it fills me with positive emotions and I feel this sense of contentment that drives
away feelings of loneliness.
Create
Humor In Your Head
I have discovered an unexpected benefit to reminiscing on jokes I’ve read or heard, and funny scenes
I’ve encountered, as I deal with an embarrassing disease that prevents me from
socializing.
However, as a defense
mechanism, especially when I start ruminating about my plight, I think about
funny occurrences and that makes me laugh. That habit helps to distract me and
help me focus on being alive instead of focusing on my isolation. I feel that
whether I can socialize or not, life is a gift that must be enjoyed and not
allowed to waste.
Yes, the desire re to
connect face-to-face with others still lurks on the edges of my thoughts, but
this habit makes living more tolerable.
Practice
Gratitude
Thank the LORD that you’re
still alive. Thank God that you have not been infected with the coronavirus.
Even if you have been
infected with the coronavirus, thank God that you are not dead. Thank your
family for their support. Appreciate your spouse for his love and care. Write
gratitude letters to yourself.
Expressing your
gratitude can increase feelings of happiness, promote feelings of contentment
and satisfaction, and make you feel connected to others, that’s according to research published in 2015 by the National
Institutes of Health.1
Make
It A Habit to Commit Yourself To Others Constantly
There is happiness in
giving rather than in waiting to receive. You will never feel truly happy and
connected in life if you choose to live life for yourself alone.
So choose a cause
bigger than yourself and work at it in the spirit of excellence. Believe in others
and nurture their dreams. Build into the lives of strangers by providing nutrients
of gratitude and encouragement.
When you do something
for someone else, you become aware that other people have problems, often much
greater than your own. And as you continue doing charitable acts, it will
become a vital part of you as you see your goals through to the end and as the
positive change you are bringing into the lives of others bears fruit.
This can help you feel
better about yourself and at least help you to keep things in the right
perspective. Such unselfish love will give meaning to your life and make it
easier for you to think less about yourself.
Remind
Yourself Of God’s Constant Presence
Who are we really as
humans? No, it’s not a no-brainer. Many people have lost sight of this fact. We
are spiritual beings, living souls, clothed in a physical body. And our souls
need to be reminded constantly that we were created by Someone, otherwise, we feel
lonely when our fellow humans don't give us time and attention.
One of the unfortunate
effects of loneliness, especially chronic loneliness, is that it makes us feel
that if no human being has time for us, then we’re really all alone. That
feeling in turn reinforces feelings of unworthiness and makes us feel unloved
and miserable.
However, when you
expand your vision and tune into spiritual vision, and you remind yourself that
God is with you always (as He promised
in Matthew 28:20), and especially now that COVID-19 is spreading across nations,
it’ll help reduce feelings of emptiness.
Offer
Up Prayer To The LORD
I was brought up in a
Christian home and taught to pray whenever I find myself in challenging circumstances.
Daily prayer has become an inextricable part of my life.
Prayer has really
helped me battle the loneliness I’ve experienced these past 10 years. And
during the COVID-19 pandemic, prayer helps me to feel that I’m still connected
to my Maker, even if I can’t spend time with people. The habit reminds me that
no matter how lonely I feel, I have a Creator who sees me as an individual He
created and who gives me undivided attention whenever I need Him.
Footnote:
Caputo, Andrea. (May
29, 2015). The relationship between gratitude and loneliness: the potential
benefits of gratitude for promoting social bonds. Published online 2015 May 29. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v11i2.826.
Eur J Psychol. 2015 May; 11(2):
323–334.
Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4873114/.
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