Coping With Loneliness

Coping With Loneliness

Most people experience loneliness at some point in their life. It is a common, even natural, human experience. There are two approaches you can take to coping with your loneliness. First, you can look for ways to relieve it: meeting new people, joining societies and clubs, catching up with old friends and so on. The second option is to embrace your loneliness and see it as an opportunity for personal growth and exploration.

The solution to loneliness is not as simple as surrounding yourself with people. You can be in a relationship, or enjoy a hectic social life, and yet still feel desperately lonely. Equally, there are people who live alone in remote places and feel perfectly content. Loneliness usually arises when we feel there is no-one in our life who truly understands us. Most of us have had the experience of being with a group of people who are just not our type. If you place a lonely, sensitive, introverted poet in a room full of boisterous, beer-drinking sports fans, he will probably feel more lonely, not less. People who move to a very different country or culture often experience this sort of loneliness. Even those who are welcomed with great kindness and generosity will, at first, experience a sense of isolation. Their own sense of individuality and separation will be thrown into sharp relief by the contrast in culture, history and tradition.

The obvious start is to make an effort to meet new people. Be kind to yourself though, and don't expect too much too soon. It takes time to meet people with whom you feel a deep connection and understanding. The truth is that many of us find a large number of those we encounter boring, irritating or depressing. Keep trying. If you have a bad experience, keep going. Do not conclude that you are destined to be alone and give up. The one way to guarantee loneliness is to give up on people. Accept that there are a huge variety of personalities out there, and the more people you meet, the more likely you are to find someone with whom you can form a lasting connection. If you are not the sort of person who feels comfortable walking into a local bar and starting conversations, try joining some kind of group or society. Consider the types of people you want to meet. Are you an extrovert who enjoys a drink and a joke? If so, you are unlikely to meet your sort of person at a chess club. What interests you? Do you love literature and art galleries? Or do you have a more practical, scientific sort of mind? If you are deep, sensitive and poetic, join a book club or take an evening class in French literature.

When you meet people, it is important to make yourself open and approachable. Lonely people are often ashamed of their loneliness and may have become remote and detached. If you are used to your own company, others will sense this. Try to make an effort without seeming needy: smile, maintain eye contact, take an interest in what others say and above all listen. The best conversationalists are those who really listen to others. Listening is not the same as patiently waiting for the other person to finish talking so that you can begin.

For the vast majority, loneliness is an inevitable and painful part of life. Do not spend your days thinking of happier times. Focus on the reality of your life here and now. It can be positive and healthy to embrace and explore your loneliness. Learning to be alone, and knowing how to cope with it, are important. In the empty silence of your loneliness you can discover your deepest self. Learn to like and accept this self. If you accept your loneliness, and learn to embrace it, you may find a deeper, stronger and more distinctive personality emerges. Such personality growth can be helped by careful, committed reading. Read as much philosophy, literature and science as you can. The world of ideas is a wonderful, inexhaustible consolation that will lift you out of your own life and put you in touch with the finest thoughts of the finest minds. Art is an especially wonderful antidote to loneliness. Through poetry, story, drama and painting we discover that we really aren't alone. Art can prove to you that your fears and concerns have been endured by others down the ages. Great art will make you feel part of one long human story.

Comments (22)

DLMac
You must have been reading someone else because I never described a "perfect woman".
No one is "perfect".
Honestly how close a match do you consider perfection?
A lot of men advise renting boats, homes, cars and women. They state you pay a hooker to leave.
Needs vs wants.
Have you taken a good look at your fellow women here? They are marketed sex products from names to fake pictures.
Then you have the aging out women trying to compete with them and getting angry when men don't notice them.
Now why are you still here in the meat (MEET) market if all you ever get are angry men?
Or maybe you simply make the men angry?
I put out tests. maybe puzzles, to uncover the INTERESTING women.
"In short, If women are so bad why are they so heavily hunted by Men?"
You can't ( legally ) kill them and you can't have Heterosexual sex without them."


Sounds like a misogyny.

"What bothers me is the declining birth rates and aging demographics of the first world, colonizer, nations."
Don't worry, the invention of AI will make you feel right at home. The prediction is that AI will rule the world in the near future. Now that's the perfect woman you described.
DLMac
carlamee

"In short, If women are so bad why are they so heavily hunted by Men?"
You can't ( legally ) kill them and you can't have Heterosexual sex without them.

Are most men here angry?
Most US women are.
A Nazi survivor described camp guards as some were good, some were bad, and some were just doing their jobs.
What bothers me is the declining birth rates and aging demographics of the first world, colonizer, nations.
If you can examine that cartoon from 1925 in my profile.
Someone saw the future.
@DLMac

Here are my take on your agreement. You wrote:

"Abelard and Heloise nearly a thousand years ago.
“One of the worlds greatest love stories, but read what she says about women who marry for money.
A lot of US women want a man to save them from debt.
Men just want sex.”


There are percentages of Men & women that are in this category. I think they have an agreement as what they expect from each other.

“I guess my point is both men and women are wrong and right about certain things.”

People have different experiences within the dating process. There are deceitfulness, entrapment, abandonment, disloyalty, etc. etc.
That is why so many Men are angry on CS. Most don’t take responsibility for their own actions.

“To contrast Heloise advice below there is this
"No girl will choose six packs over six cars so stop going to the gym and go to work – Robert mugabe"


I don’t think that applies to all women. I don’t like to take the opinions of others (brain wash). I decipher things for myself.



In short, If women are so bad why are they so heavily hunted by Men?

A man's perspective.
A woman's perspective.
dunno
DLMac
Do the math. Everyone spends x amount of time awake. During that x amount of time you have y interactions with various people.
The majority of a day is always spent alone. Sleep takes half your life.
Look around what do you see?
A whole lot of emptiness with a few particles interacting.
There are 8 BILLION people in the world.
Want to stop being alone back pack to India.
Want to stop being lonely speak to everyone. Just how many people are mere background scenery to everyone.
Want to know about where you live talk to the mail and delivery people.
Talk to the store clerk, Talk to the old people ona park bench,
The reality is we will always be alone. We are trapped in our individual minds.
I think most people confuse loneliness with other emotions and do not self integrate enough to define what exactly they need.
Needs versus wants.
Basic needs are air, water, food, shelter and sleep.
Beyond that everything else is wants.
You feel lonely go to a different church every day they have an activity. Go to various meetings like AA.
Volunteer.
Or just plain learn to live with your needs not your wants.
stevenamatofb
i'm sick of being single.. i been single for ten years i tryout so many dating sites is this the new way of life
DLMac
Everyone will always be alone until technology allows us to enter each others minds. Then we will hate each other for what we discover.
Two lonely people, one lonely night.
Just be in the right place at the right time and feel the magic happens.
FloatingInSpace
I think people who are surrounded by friends and are still lonely need a good kick up the hole.
BobbyGee
I'm glad I opened "Connecting Singles" today. I do so every now and then to see what's happening. In doing so today I came across this article on Loneliness (never knew these stories were on here).
I have been alone for many years now due to my many years of active alcoholism (am now 21 yrs. sober) that caused so many broken relationships (family+friends) that they became unrepairable.
During these sad times of the Covid-19 virus the "loneliness" is particularly deep. I have found myself stranded in a foreign country in isolation (am 70 yrs. of age) after coming here for a holiday. But.. to the point I wish to make. I look at TV all day and noticed a lot of elderly people in isolation missed more than anything to be able to give and receive "Hugs" from their family and friends.....and it suddenly struck me..."How lucky you are...just to have people in your life that wish to hug you".....It could be a lot worse .
lisaofflorida64
I am alone . I like it tis way. People have been nuts and made my life hell.
I did the marriage and children family thing , now it's my time for some peace in what little time I have left.
Any friends I have ever had ended up being nut so now I don't try to get to know no one. I stay to myself and have been so happy this way. Now I have been feeling lately like it would be nice to find a nice man . I don't hing this site is a great place to do that but I'll give it a try. I am alone but not been lonely but am starting to feel a little that way. beer
spungey
Had to take breaks from people before as everyone has that option. It seems that the right friends make the difference. Some are takers and some are givers.Some are passing the time of day and it reflexs in how much they put into the relationship.

Good to have hobbies
girlfan18
Some people can't stand being alone. I love solitude and silence.The best part about being alone is that you really don't have to answer to anybody. You do what you want to do.There's a tremendous difference between alone and lonely. You could be lonely in a group of people. I like being alone sometimes....not always.applause
LastStrike
Thank you for sharing this interesting article wine
Filmnoir67
I have always been deeply living within the twilight of my loneliness. Feeling disconnected is one thing but sitting and reflectively seeing as it is help a great deal in coping with my existence. I do not want to escape my inner existence or do I wish to further alienate myself with the rest of the herd.
sweething365
Thank you so much for putting this article together. It's always interesting to hear what other people have to say. Being alone can actually be a blessing. It gives one the opportunity of getting to know himself or herself.
terryd55
Loneliness is a bad thing. There is hope you will meet that person of your dreams.
sexyinpink
Yes, learming is a great antidote to loneliness.professor
2317588F
Great article I totally agree with you. I'm starting to embrace this phase of my life & see the positives about it. Some people are shallow, thinking if you lonely then you depressed! :shrugs:
Personally I've just outgrown certain aspects of my old circles. After all change is for the better.
Godfearing31
Feeling isolated can also be a form of depression. Depression is treatable with exercise or medication depending on how bad it is.
THELEMAGE
THELEMAGE - I FIND YOU ARE RIGHT IN THIS & JUST MAYBE I CAN LOOK BACK ON IT TO CONSTANTLY TO LEARN FROM IT - THANK YOU !!!
MissNawty9
And what happens when you are just tired of people?

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