How do I cope with isolation?

How do I cope with isolation?

Isolation is rarely ever good or pleasant, but sometimes isolation is necessary. We tend to self-isolate when we are sick or when we are feeling down or melancholic. The problem is that we weren’t made to be isolated. Humans are social and we need human to human interaction  on a regular basis to stay mentally and emotionally healthy. Isolation tends to have terrible effects on people physically and mentally.

One of the biggest and most common side-effect of isolation is Loneliness:

Loneliness is one of the most unpleasant and common side-effects of isolation. It can make people more fearful, have negative effects on their self-esteem, and can degrade their ability to socially interact and possibly even affect their ability to empathise with others. It may even affect your physical health by lowerign your immune system, and make you more susceptible to other conditions and illnesses. While not everyone may suffer from hallucinations during isolation, most everyone at some point will feel lonely.

Dealing with loneliness is important. There are a number of ways that people have developed to deal with loneliness:

Acknowledge when you are feeling lonely. Sometimes the feeling creeps up, but admitting you are feeling lonely at any point in your day, week, or month is the first step to understanding you aren’t feeling at your best. When we acknowledge our loneliness, we prevent ourselves from potentially waving it off and ignoring it until it becomes a serious matter.

Make contact with people you know. Even in isolation you can call them and talk. It’s important to take some time to make the call and to connect with the people you know.  There doesn’t need to be any agenda, you can just talk about what’s happening with your life, and find out what’s been happening with other people you know. Connecting with people will help your mental and emotional well-being immensely.
 
Find some time to enjoy your time: You can relax, read a book, catch up on some news, indulge in your hobbies, clean the house, or anything that you enjoy doing and fulfills you. Isolation  allows you time for self-reflection, and gives you room to sort out your own thoughts and emotions and do the things you love. Especially with the advent of the internet, finding a community in the virtual world that shares the same interests and hobbies as you is relatively easy. Building that sense of community in this way can also help tremendously with the negative feelings from being isolated and lonely.
 
Isolation is not always bad, and it can sometimes be necessary, but over prolonged periods can cause a great deal of emotional and mental distress. People in isolation or people who are feeling a profound sense of loneliness should consider professional counselling. There are online resources and online counsellors that you may turn to. It might help to know that you aren’t alone even if you feel like you are.
 
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