Acıbadem Fulya Hospital Psychiatrist Dr. Büşra Sübay said, “Loneliness is a painful and highly undesirable process that almost everyone experiences at least once in their life. With the pandemic, it has been felt much more in our lives for about two years. Humans are creatures that need socialization and relationships in order to survive. Scientific research reveals that lack of communication and staying away from social relations negatively affect physical and mental health. “Loneliness can lead to many problems from the brain to cardiovascular diseases, from depression to anxiety disorders and dementia.”
NOTICE YOUR EMOTIONS
“You may be feeling lonely. Loneliness; It can contain many different emotions such as sadness, pain, feeling lost, nothingness, helplessness and alienation. Remember that all the emotions we experience are temporary and they cannot stay with us all the time,” said Psychiatrist Dr. Büşra Sübay continues her words as follows: “What emotion does loneliness have in you, you can take the first step by discovering this emotion. We know that emotions begin to lessen their impact on us when we listen to them and become aware of them. To explore these feelings, we must focus on ourselves. Maybe you can try to put the feelings into writing.”
DON’T DISCONTACT WITH YOUR LOVED ONES
Loneliness involves deprivation of social relationships. Sometimes the end of a relationship that we think we are not understood can lead to this privacy, sometimes it is preferable to stay away from people because of feeling like we are in the emptiness brought by loneliness. Loneliness gets worse. In fact, the vicious circle can be broken by trying to spend time with people you felt happy when you communicated before. Therefore, be in touch with your loved ones; Making video calls during the pandemic will be good for you and your loved ones.
IDENTIFY YOUR REAL NEEDS
What do you really need? Ask yourself this question. Sometimes, to deal with our irritating emotions, we take actions to suppress the irritating emotion, such as shopping when we don’t need it or eating when we’re not hungry. When we feel lonely, instead of filling that void with other things, feeling that emotion will help us understand ourselves and discover what we really need. There is no single simple formula for these needs, and our own needs may change over time and situation. Just as a parent follows his child (Is he hungry or thirsty? Is he sleepy?) to meet his child’s needs, we must follow ourselves. Sometimes the loss of a loved one can create feelings of sadness and loneliness in us. In this case, creating a space where we can express our feelings about our loss will meet our need.
Spend time with people who have common points
Psychiatrist Dr. Büşra Sübay said, “We may feel like we don’t belong anywhere from time to time. It’s not as if anyone is able to find our process, people who can communicate. This step will help increase the sense of belonging. You can attend events, clubs or meetings that have the potential to have common interests,” she says.
HAVE YOUR ROUTINES
Attend routine meetings/events with people you have in common with. Try to regularly do things that you love and that you know are good for you. As the routines created together will increase the sense of belonging, it will reduce the discomfort of loneliness.
TAKE A TRIP IN NATURE
Psychiatrist Dr. Büşra Sübay said, “We know that the relationship with nature actually helps us reach ourselves. “Staying away from the pace that pushes us to loneliness in the hustle and bustle of city life while in nature will increase our intimacy with ourselves and it will be easier for us to realize our own needs.”