Everyone has had a moment in their life where things just do not seem to be going right. The feeling that despite being surrounded by people that love you a deep sense of loneliness remains.

Now, why is that? According to verywell mind’s written by Kendra Cherry titled, “Loneliness: Causes and Health Consequences”, the feeling of loneliness is not just driven by actually being isolated but instead feeling that you are alone.¹

It is much more of how you internalize your feelings. These feelings can also be caused by external factors such as mental health and even physical health.

For some people, being by themselves is preferable which is why they do not have this type of reaction. Loneliness can affect people in many ways and while sometimes they can be relatively positive and a lesson in self contentment it can negatively affect others.

An example of how this could be negative would be to feel abandoned or rejected by friends because they are out partying and you are not. A useful skill to have would be to be able to be okay with being by yourself.

While it is no fun to go through life without others, sometimes it is necessary and even good to have personal time to yourself. If we constantly look for companionship we would never have time to work on ourselves and become dependent on others to enjoy ourselves.

An article from and written by Healthline titled, “The Beginner's Guide to Being Happy Alone”, detailed that some ways to attempt to start being more content by yourself were to think about the benefits of being on your own, take a break, and plan time to go out for you.² Like I said before being alone can sometimes just be an excuse for you to treat yourself.

Everyone likes to have a little “me time” so instead of looking at a situation negatively you can think about how it can best suit you. You could take a break and even plan to go out somewhere by yourself.

You virtually have the freedom to choose what you would like to do. I personally like to think of it as self care because sometimes people can just be too much for me.

Healthline even goes on to suggest ways that you can even further this by switching up your routine, focus on growing your coping skills, and plan for the future.² Changing up your routines rattles your normal schedule which could add more enjoyment to your everyday life.

While doing these methods of satisfying your own company you should also prepare to deal with situations where those feelings do come back but now you have ways for coping and managing them. To keep giving you the motivation to go forward you can also plan ahead, giving you things to look forward to.

However, just because you have found a way to enjoy your own company it is still important to maintain your relationships. Taking time for yourself isn't a crime but forgetting about everyone else though not criminal, can still hurt.

Always care for yourself and if you believe that what you are feeling could be an underlying or growing issue seek help from someone trusted or a medical professional.

Cited Sources:

1-https://www.verywellmind.com/loneliness-causes-effects-and-treatments-2795749
“Loneliness: Causes and Health Consequences” written by Kendra Cherry from verywell mind

2- https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-be-happy-alone
“The Beginner's Guide to Being Happy Alone” written by Healthline