What to Do when You're Lonely - Some Simple Ideas

For many people, loneliness is a serious, heart wrenching, problem. For others, it's just another part of life, something that comes and goes. Regardless of your own personal circumstances, there are things you can do to alleviate the feelings of loneliness, if you so choose.

It's important to understand that feeling lonely isn't just something that people feel when they are alone. Quite often people find themselves feeling lonely even when with friends or family, or in the midst of a crowd. When this happens, it's usually more than your garden variety loneliness. In such cases, it's likely attributable to something much more complex, such as social disconnection or a sign of trouble at home.

In other instances, people find themselves feeling lonely for a certain someone, or a time or place. Whether it is due to the absence of a spouse for extended periods of time, the death of a parent or the pangs that creep in when moving to a new place, the feelings are very similar. Your heart feels empty and you wish for it to be filled once again with what is missing.

As mentioned, regardless of the source of your loneliness, there are things you can do to alleviate the pain and heartache. Below, I've outlined some of the things that have worked for me over the years.

Bask in it. Sometimes, there is no point in fighting loneliness, especially if it's due to an obvious cause. Quite often when this happens, I find it useful to simply let it take over. If you're lonely because you're missing someone, for example, rather than try to avoid those feelings, embrace them Open a scrapbook and look at pictures of things that help you to connect with whoever or whatever you are missing. Put on some music you and another might have liked. Immerse yourself in memories . Cry. Sometimes the feelings and memories become so clear and vivid it's difficult to remember afterwards that they weren't really happening right there in front of you.