My family situation is not so good !!!! I am feeling lonely 😭, What should I do?

This is often asked of me by many clients. Over here upon probing, I get to know due to a lack of familial connectedness or family conflicts people tend to feel lonely. Here are some “tips” to help you manage stress caused by loneliness.

• Performing physical activities such as running, gymming, aerobics, etc for at least an hour raises your heartbeat which is beneficial for emotional regulation thereby helping in stress management caused due to loneliness.

• Adopting a pet or spending time with stray furry friends can also help with loneliness. Also, performing various activities with them in the form of exercise, play, walks, and scent, tactile rubs can help. Additionally, it can bring you out in a social environment.

• Writing or verbalizing positive affirmations: Self-affirmation would provide protection to your self-image which can make you feel adaptive, and competent which is further known in reducing unhelpful and negative thoughts.

I hope for the time being these 3 tips can help with loneliness, I have more but those are for another time. Let me know shall I write part 2 with the rest of the tips.

Thank you for taking the time to read and take care. Have a great day!

References

Dang, Q., Wu, J., Bai, R. et al. Self-affirmation training can relieve negative emotions by improving self-integrity among older adults. Curr Psychol 42, 8816–8823 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02201-9

Hawkley, L. C., Thisted, R. A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2009, May). Loneliness predicts reduced physical activity: Cross-sectional & Longitudinal analyses. Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791498/

Kretzler, B., König, H.-H., & Hajek, A. (2022, October). Pet ownership, loneliness, and Social Isolation: A systematic review. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9272860/

Masi, C. M., Chen, H.-Y., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2011, August). A meta-analysis of interventions to reduce loneliness. Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3865701/

Loneliness, depression, and physical activity in older adults: The ... (n.d.). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08927936.2019.1569906

Sean Seepersad dissertation - web of loneliness. (n.d.). http://www.webofloneliness.com/uploads/7/3/2/3/7323413/sean_seepersad_dissertation.pdf

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