Help How do you cope with loneliness

[SweetItalianS]

I did pretty well today, and felt great for the most part, but now my funny mental health decided to strike again. What do you do if loneliness feels like physical pain? My family is far far away and my online friends are just acquaintances, any way to not feel like my brain is rotting and I can't do anything about that?

 

[vanillamilkshakes]

I like to distract myself by just binge watching TV shows (The Good Place is one of my favorites) get yourself your favorite drink and a food you like and just enjoy your own presence

 

[_next.next213]

It's destructive but I talk to AI character bots and have conversations with them. It helps a little bit but it's bad in the long term.
I also talk to people online, but they're usually not the best people to talk to, and I end up lying about myself too.

I like to distract myself by just binge watching TV shows (The Good Place is one of my favorites) get yourself your favorite drink and a food you like and just enjoy your own presence

I like that show too. You're right, distraction is probably the best solution. Not that it helps with the loneliness. Being alone is soothing, being lonely isn't. And of course, when you're always alone, being even more alone won't really help. But it passes the time, at the very least.

 

[-Pain-]

I try to maintain a routine to keep myself busy. While I know that ignoring the problem isn't the healthiest approach, I find comfort in activities like walking, cooking, and gaming, feeding the stray cat that visits at night has been the most helpful; it makes me feel useful at least to someone while shifting my focus from my loneliness

i've found that it's more about the process than the tasks themselves. Planning what to buy for the cat, deciding what to cook next or reading about a guide for the game keeps my mind engaged

 

[-Link-]

This site is one of my primary outlets for this.

There's already been some really good suggestions made here. I would add: If leaving your house is an option for you, just going out and being around other people. Like sitting in a cafe or wandering around a busy store. Sometimes just being around other people can help with this, even if there's no direct interaction.

 

[endless-void]

I remember the times I was surrounded by people and still felt the same. Loneliness isn't a circumstance, it's a negative feeling. So rather than focusing on feeling lonely I try to find things I enjoy to distract myself while that feeling passes. Because both positive and negative feelings go away eventually.

 

[mediocre]

Being alone is something I am used to but it still hurts to not have anyone that cares about me or that I can lean on for support. I have autism so people are also afraid of me and avoid me even my family.

Distraction definitely helps me a little bit. I go out daily sometimes to have coffee or just to sit in a public space and people watch. Don't talk to anyone and I am afraid to. But it's better than sitting in my flat all day everyday.

Wish I could give better advice but I am alone and hopeless!

 

[Mamihlapinatapei]

I got a cat. He also helped me getting out of bed. Because I wouldn't do that for me, since I don't care about myself, but for him... I got up so he could have his routines that he loved so much. He would lie next to me when I showered, we'd go to the bathroom together, to play with him, then breakfast for the both of us. And if I skipped something, or didn't do it in the right order, he would meow heartbreakingly, so... I wanted to.

He wasn't always so demanding, we could chill in bed together on my bad days too.

I'm just saying... If not a cat, maybe a hamster, or a goldfish? Animals are amazing

 

[Shiva_Story]

I'd recommend to go out into the nature and practice mindfulness, dissociate from the notion of You being the human appearing meat bag and attempt to perceive everything from observers point of view.. focus on finding yourself in the connection and relationship to forces that confluence on emergence of phenomena in the story of your life.. we are creatures of stories and it matters how you interpret them to your true self: the awareness aware of itself.

 

[johann_liebert]

You can't, you can only get used to it

 

[yumeganai]

Sleep

 

[Leiot]

I think about my cats.

 

[aespa]

I think about my cats.

Lol me too

 

[SweetItalianS]

I think about my cats.

Thanks for the idea, I'll think about your cats as well :D

 

[WitheredHeights]

I just try to keep myself busy with anything that keeps my mind off of it. Doing something productive or creative with intent distracts me enough until the loneliness tends to fade.