16 Tips To Help You Not Feel Lonely

Is there anything worse than feeling lonely? Unfortunately, many people suffer from loneliness, even those who appear on the surface to have plenty of friends and family around them. If you experience it, learning how to not feel lonely means a little bit of work on your part, but with good consequences.

Loneliness takes many forms. For many, it comes from a place within where they don’t feel understood or relatable to other people. Of course, there is physical loneliness too, and feeling as though you have no friends or people to hang out with can be terribly isolating. It leads to feelings of sadness and depression.

# Go out more

You can’t make new friends and meet new people by sitting holed up in your house alone. By forcing yourself to go out to social events, you increase your chances of meeting likeminded people who you get on with. Even if the idea of it seems scary and nerve-wracking, the more you put yourself in these situations, the more you will get used to them and the easier they become.

You must start somewhere. Just by showing up, you take the first steps in the right direction to alleviate your loneliness.

# Say yes to things

Be a yes person instead of a no person. When you get invited out to places or just when an opportunity comes your way, don’t be afraid to say yes. Just go for it and see where the adventure takes you. You never know where it could lead.

# Enjoy your own company

Feeling lonely isn’t necessarily about being with other people. You should be able to have a good time by yourself and learning to enjoy and value your own company is definitely part of that. Remember to be your own best friend so instead of being down on yourself learn how to respect and look after yourself instead.

# Take up a class

Learning something new helps distract you from your loneliness and can also be a great opportunity to meet new people.

# Get a new hobby

A new hobby leads to meeting likeminded people. Choose something you love such as painting or a new sport and throw yourself into it. Find communities of people who enjoy the same things you do and reach out to them. You could find you have a whole new group of friends just waiting for you to get in touch!

# Smile more

Just the act of smiling makes us feel happier within ourselves. It also helps you seem friendlier. People are more likely to approach you.

# Practice striking up conversation

Even if you are really shy, learn how to conduct a conversation. Practice makes perfect, so try to strike up a conversation with someone, even your local barista or shopkeeper. Keep practicing. With each nice conversation you have, your confidence grows.

# Go speed dating

If you really want to throw yourself in the deep end, go speed dating. This helps you practice talking to lots of people. You may meet someone you really get on with too.

# Watch an uplifting movie

Sometimes, if you want to know how to not feel lonely, you just need to forget about being lonely. Take yourself out to an inspiring, positive movie. You’ll probably find yourself in a much better frame of mind.

# Read a good book

Same goes for reading—find a book to immerse yourself in and get lost in another world for a while!

# Get a new job

A new job can be just the thing you need to start fresh. You have a whole new set of people you see every day who could become great friends.

# Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to feel better about yourself, improve your sense of self-worth, and meet new people. It also puts things in perspective if you feel a little sorry for yourself!

# Join groups

Joining various groups such as running groups or writing groups helps you meet new sets of people and expand your interests.

# Get a pet

You might just crave some company if you live alone. And, providing you have the time and resources to care for it, if may be that a little furry friend is the perfect company!

# Figure out why you feel lonely

It is important to get to the root cause of your loneliness. If something deeper is going on, try to tackle it. You end up feeling so much better.

# Make a positive playlist

Music really changes a mood and takes you from feeling lonely and isolated to positive and inspired. Make a playlist of all your favorite uplifting songs and put it on whenever you feel sad.