Whether you’ve experienced some severe loneliness as a result of the social distancing and isolation that many people have had to live with over the last year or you’ve just found yourself feeling that you haven’t had meaningful connections with people lately, feeling lonely can be all encompassing. But even if you’re not able to physically see others or you don’t have a big support system to rely on right now, there are still things that you can do to get some socialization and meet these emotional needs.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to find more human connection when you’re feeling lonely.
Find An Online Class
As long as you have internet access, you can find a world full of people just at your fingertips. But the trick here is knowing where to find the right people.
Because many online interactions are superficial or even faceless, you’ll want to choose the right ways to connect with people online if you’re really wanting to work through some of your loneliness. One great way to do this, according to Allison Aubrey, a contributor to NPR.org, is to take a live class about something. Whatever it is you feel interest in or passion for, you can likely find an online class or discussion group about it. And what’s great about this is that anyone can participate, be it someone in an assisted living community or a person who’s just looking to see some faces other than their co-workers.
Start A New Hobby
For those who are wanting to connect with other people without having to interact only online, you may want to consider starting some kind of new hobby that will allow you to engage with other people within that hobby-based community. Especially if you’re a beginner at this new hobby, you can look for someone to take lessons from, sign up for a class or seminar, or join a group of like-minded people in your area to get to know through this new endeavor.
Focus On Quality Interactions
Even if you’re someone who sees a lot of different people on a regular basis, you can still experience loneliness.
In situations like this, sometimes the problem is that you’re not having many quality interactions. But while you can’t force someone to have a quality human interaction with you, you can find ways to turn some of your superficial interactions into quality ones. To do this, Alex Klein, a contributor to Healthline.com, suggests that you ask more questions when you talk to people. This will get them to open up to you more. Also, avoid merely talking about the niceties of life—ask them about things that really matter to them or to you.
If you’ve been feeling lonely and are looking for a way out of this, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find more ways to interact meaningfully with others that you come in contact with.
