Did you ever feel isolated at a party? Maybe you sometimes feel lonely around your friends or family? Have you ever had the experience of sadness without knowing the exact reason why?

You shouldn’t worry. Everyone experiences loneliness from time to time and it’s a completely normal feeling to have. Most people link loneliness to being alone when in reality, it has nothing to do with it. People can experience loneliness even when being around a lot of people. It’s healthy and completely fine if the feeling goes away within a short period of time, however, it can become a problem if it persists for a long time. When it starts to take a toll on your thoughts and daily activities, then it can begin causing harm to your health.

But don’t fret, we are here to protect your overall well-being and guide you step by step to overcome the feeling of loneliness with the healthiest strategies. So read on to find out how!

1. Recognise Your Feelings

A feeling of sadness and loneliness can make people assume that no one likes them or that there might be something wrong with them. If you are dealing with any emotional situations, it’s vital to stop predicting things and accept the situation. Do not confuse yourself by making false assumptions that can, in fact, make you feel worse. Be practical and learn how you can best deal with stress, depression, anger or anxiety in your own way.

2. Initiate Conversation

Reaching out to people can turn out to be a great help in order to regain control and calm down your mind when stressed. People usually don’t like to share and talk about feeling lonely but this can be a great help in order to cope up with loneliness. However, building new connections and sharing your thoughts with friends and family can help boost your mood and strengthen any existing bonds.

3. Make Time For Fun

Even when your feelings of loneliness and depression are telling you not to have fun, you have just got to get up and spend time doing the things that make you happy, relaxed, and satisfied. This can be anything. Watching your favourite Netflix show, listening to that band you like, reading a book, cooking, gardening, or whatever else it might be that makes you feel better.

4. Do Not Overeat

People tend to eat more and crave unhealthy foods to make themselves feel better when feeling down. This is called emotional eating. Not only can this cause rapid weight gain but it also paves the way for other diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases etc. For that reason, eat when you feel hungry and not just when you feel like eating to make yourself feel better.

Cut down on refined sugar that causes harm to your health and look instead for natural sugars like coconut sugar, honey, and fruits to comfort your sweet tooth.

5. Eat Nutritious Food

When we eat well we feel better naturally. Avoiding junk food and sticking to healthy food can ward off symptoms of depression and support good physical and mental health which further helps to overcome loneliness. Healthy eating provides essential nutrients to the body and further encourages people to make healthier choices. Make sure that your diet consists of the following food items that can help to uplift your mood:

• Fresh green and colourful vegetables
• Seasonal fruits or fresh juices without any preservatives or artificial flavouring
• Nuts (especially walnuts and almonds) and seeds
• Whole grain food like oats, popcorn, brown rice etc.

Legumes: lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas etc.

6. Exercise

The feeling of hopelessness or worthlessness can quickly turn you into a couch potato. But it’s known that taking some time to work out and exercise can do wonders for your mental health and boost happiness. Stretching out in between work, going for a jog in the morning and dancing your heart out all night long are worthy alternatives if don’t fancy joining a gym.

7. Get Enough Sleep

When people don’t sleep enough they feel irritable, angry, and in a worse mood the next day. A lack of sleep decreases someone’s ability to cope with stress and can have many other harmful side effects. For that reason, try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night. You’ll be surprised, a good night’s sleep can help deal with loneliness in an incredibly effective way.

Prioritise your sleep and before long you could see positive changes to your emotional health.

8. Learn New Things

Taking the time to learn new things can have a number of positive benefits to both your physical and mental well-being. Learning a new skill freshens the mind and can make you feel better as it instils you with a sense of achievement. It can help to nurture your mind as a form of self-improvement and could even help you become a better person.

9. Take a Short Break

Taking a short break amidst the chaos of life and going on a vacation can help reset everything. It can refresh your mind and reduce the burden of stress that relate to negative feelings. This doesn’t need to be an all-expense, luxury holiday that costs a huge amount of money, instead, it might just be about having fun. Visiting friends you haven’t seen in ages or just a day trip out somewhere can help you forget your worries and refresh your mind.

10. Seek Medical Help

An underlying or deep medical condition that exists for a longer period can be the cause of depression. If you wake up every day with these feelings and don’t see any improvements with time, it is advised that you visit a therapist. A professional therapist will be useful to deal with clinical depression and talking with one can help get you on the path to feeling better.

Final Thoughts

Always remember to share your feelings with the people who care about you. Repressing feelings can make you feel more stressed and depressed whereas communicating with loved ones can help you to deal with such problems and even open the door to many other possible solutions as well.

Next time, whenever you find yourself isolated and lonely, just try to stay positive and stick to any of the discussed tips to overcome the feeling of loneliness. Everyone goes through rough patches, those who know how to combat such hurdles are able to enjoy life with fewer worries and more happiness.

Always feel good about yourself and stay healthy!