Loneliness Support Group
Loneliness is an emotional state in which a person experiences a powerful feeling of emptiness and isolation. Loneliness is more than the feeling of wanting company or wanting to do something with another person. Loneliness is a feeling of being cut off, disconnected and alienated from other people. The lonely person may find it difficult or even impossible to have any...
I've always had problems feeling close to people for a variety of reasons (lots of trauma and mental health problems). The idea of friends and family is very important to me. However, I feel more alone than ever. I recently cut off most contact with my whole family, since the toxicity was otherwise inescapable. I don't regret it, it was definitely the right choice, but I'm mourning the loss of the idea. I only have about...5...maybe 6? people I would call friends but I'm not really close to any of them, and the two I'm better friends with have moved away. I was pretty close to someone a couple years ago, but he was pretty toxic and I had to get away. I want to feel connected to people, but I'm too....different I guess. I've never felt truly understood and there have been incidents that have led to me losing a lot of trust, even in my friends. The place I used to volunteer at, and the only place full of like-minded people I could hang out with, closed down last year, and I haven't found anywhere else to go. Every holiday, including my birthday, this last year, I have spent mostly alone.
My therapist and I think that this loneliness and grieving has triggered a lot of problems, because I'm kind of riding the line to getting really bad again. I've tried looking online for people, but it's not the same. And there's nothing around my town that fits me (I live in a tourist/retirement town that has nothing for youth and poor people). Everything I'm even remotely interested in (like the one freaking support group) is overrun by much older people and I literally cannot feel comfortable around them.
I guess I'm just looking for advice. What can a poor, mentally ill, young adult do to combat loneliness?
-
check out that smoke ring. It tasted really good. I smothered it with Maulls BBQ sauce which is Local to St. Louis and one of the best I ever had.....
-
I was recently separated from my wife of 33 years and it's complicated. Anyway I rented a room about 15 minutes away and I see my kids about once a week. I see the people who own the house I live in once in a while but other than that I stay in my room where I do my cooking, wash dishes in the shower, read, color, and sleep. I get out at least once a day. I grocery shop and I attend 2 meetings...
I got to know one of the kids on my street and we did alot of things together. Use to go on long walks and share parts of my life with him and my wisdom benefitted him in a variety of different ways. I was kinda like a big brother to him. It started when he and his little sister came to my house and wanted to know if I had any scrap metal (his family was poor) so I gave them an old tire rim and some metal banding, I wanted to get rid of and they were happy as hell. Realizing their situation, I hired them to do some cleaning in my sheds one afternoon. After that, we kept in touch and every time I saw them riding their bikes, they would stop and talk to me.
I spend alot of time outdoors, I can't stay in the house all day or I'd be climbing the walls.. When I am outside, I like to walk alot or jog, and when I see someone outside, I talk to them.
So don't be afraid of others. We are all the same. We are human beings, but try to avoid the temptation to see others as different from you, and judge that difference. Always have a smile on your face so people will wonder what you've been up to :-)
Let us know how it goes.
God Bless