You're Not Alone: Five Ways Out of Loneliness
SpringSight.net - July 07, 2015
Everyone gets lonely sometimes. Some of us are better at it than others. When life gets stressful, I can find a million and one reasons for being lonely, and I bet you can too.
In my previous marriage to someone prone to workaholism, I frequently felt lonely as I waited indefinitely for him to get off the phone or the computer. After our divorce, when I was simultaneously crushed with grief, struggling as a single parent, and no longer a part of my married-couple social circle, I felt a new level of loneliness. Then illness came, with its various flavors of isolating effects. From not being able to drive at times, to not being physically able to participate in planned activities, it has driven me even further away from the vibrant social life I used to know.
In some ways, I have come to appreciate my slower lifestyle, as it gives me more time for introspection and contemplation. This blog would never have come to be without a lifestyle change. I just would have been too busy! And don’t get me wrong, I’m still a fairly busy person and my day-to-day responsibilities are hardly drudgery. I enjoy my work and the time I spend caring for my daughter, husband and other family members. I also take time for my church, which I wouldn’t trade for anything. But even in the midst of this, I sometimes get that longing for something…more. It’s a feeling of being disconnected, which seems strange in an era when we are SO “connected” via cell phones, email and social media. Yet, there it is. When I’m home alone and the phone doesn’t ring, I check my email and it’s all business, or the holiday passes and I didn’t get invited to the party…I start feeling a little lonely inside.
I suspect I am not alone in my loneliness. Yes, I bet you feel that way too. The good news is that neither of us have to stay that way. I’ve now experienced loneliness enough in my life to know how to effectively deal with it.
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