Sometimes in life we may feel lonely or isolated.
Maybe we’ve recently moved to a new location away from our friends or family and struggling to meet people. Or we don’t feel like we fit in with the people around us due to personal beliefs/different lifestyles. Perhaps you might have grown apart from the people you were at one point close to as a result of life circumstances. You might even have people around you but you don’t feel understood or cared for by them and as such feel lonely.
It is also important to remember that this is something that can be felt by anyone regardless of age or personal beliefs.
These periods of loneliness can be a very emotional and difficult time. Especially if you are someone who would normally thrive off having this social interaction and a chance to talk to someone about the things going on in your life or even a shared interest such as a film recently out at the cinema.
Whilst feeling lonely itself isn’t a mental health problem, it is still something that is heavily linked to mental health. Some research has suggested that loneliness can increase stress and increase the risk of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and sleep problems.
One thing I have personally seen that is great for spending time with people is going
to the football every week, regardless of the result it can be great to just be around so many people with a shared interest (of course it can definitely help if your team wins too!)
During these colder, winter months these feelings of loneliness and isolation can often increase, with people maybe more hesitant to leave the house due to the weather outside.
It can be so important to have some sort of outlet however to spend time with others. For example, if you’re a gamer, sites such as Discord have provided ways of spending time with people all over the world! But social media pages such as Facebook also have so many different groups for many interests so you can share your knowledge with many like-minded people too. And due to it being all virtual, you won’t even have to brave the cold outside.
If you are struggling with your mental health and loneliness there is also support available for that too.
At Burton and District Mind, we offer Peer Support Groups, where you can spend time with others who may be in a similar situation to yourself and can share you experiences with one another. These Peer Support Groups take place both virtually and in-person.
We also do Activity Groups such as our Eco-Therapy if that is something more your style!
And of course, we have our Listening Spaces taking place at the Burton Library and Geek Retreat which are an absolute wonderful opportunity to chat with one of our lovely team!
Mind also offer Side by Side too, which is a 24/7 online community where you can connect with others across the country over shared experiences -> https://sidebyside.mind.org.uk/
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