Loneliness

Everyone feels lonely at some point, it’s a deep-rooted feeling that bubbles to the surface whenever you feel the teeny-tiniest bit down, which can be annoying however, there are explanations for this and ways to help manage. ​

There are a few reasons as to why people feel lonely and after doing some research, I found that there are 5 main reasons to people feeling lonely:

1. You are the kind of person who prefers closeness in a relationship and when you don’t have this you tend to feel alone.
2. You are an introvert and you may find socialising tiring and scary, meaning you are left alone quite often and tend to feel lonely.
3. You prefer quality over quantity, meaning you would rather have one close, important relationship instead of a bunch of average friendships.
4. You keep yourself and your secrets locked away, this means people can’t form any close, personal relationships with others, leaving you feeling alone.
5. You spend a lot of time on social media, no this isn’t online shaming, it just means you shut yourself out from the world outside your door. Updates from friends hanging out together without you can be upsetting and really make you feel lonely.

Here are my personal tips to feel better when I’m feeling lonely:

1. Read a book. This may not essentially be helping you in the long run, but if you are someone who only feels lonely for small periods of time, reading a book and transporting into that world of adventure could really help you. It allows you to escape reality, even if it is only for a little bit. My favourite books to read The Mortal instruments series because there are so many of them and they are jam-packed full of adventure and amazing storylines.
2. Call up a family member, have a little chat with your nan! It will give you something to do, makes you feel less lonely and will surely make them feel loved! A win-win situation! I have a close relationship with my cousin and in the past her and I have hung out together, went shopping or even snapchatted each other ugly selfies.
3. Write something down. This can be anything, write a story, write a poem, write in your diary, even apply to write for our website! If it's helping you feel less lonely it's working! I like to write fake articles for our website, I may not necessarily end up posting them but even just writing them down and expressing how I feel can be really beneficial.
4. Make internet friends. I know they aren't nearby and you can't physically touch them but sometimes just dropping your best online friend a message and having a chat can make you feel so much better. You can make these through Facebook Groups, Twitter accounts or even Instagram. Some of my closest online friends I have made through an Ariana Grande stan account on twitter and it is one of my favourite places to go when I am feeling down because there is always someone online to talk to who can make me feel better.
5. Invite a friend over to watch a movie. If you dropped your friends a message to come over and watch a movie with you because you’re feeling lonely, at least one of them should come around. I know I would have at least of my 2 friends who would drop what they are doing to come over and spend time with me.

 
I hope my research and personal ways of tackling loneliness are of some use to you, loneliness can be one of the worst feelings and if push comes to shove, I'm your friend and you can always message me for a quick or long chat. You can find me on Instagram or twitter @em_taylorxox.
Emily xx