So sorry for your loss. I miss my wife tremendously. I lost her 3.5 months ago. I have a full time job so I get by in doing my work lots. But in other times, I take a walk, read a book, get online to read news or DS, and watch TV. I have a cat (my wife's favorite) so I also spend time with him more (petting him and even eating with him). All these little things add up to make my days through. Hugs, Tiger

I to am having a problem with being alone even though I have a 7 year old son at home. I just miss my husband. And he misses his dad. Im sorry you are feeling alone. Hugs!
Jen

I have also been having this problem. In fact, I've really been struggling with it...it's been almost 2 months since my husband passed. We have been almost inseparable, particularly in the past couple of years. Even when he was in the hospital, I knew where he was, and hoped that he would be coming home. But this...this is unbearable.

I'm sorry for your loss.
Take care, Wendi

It is almost 10 months for me. I force myself out to do things I try to go to church weekly & go to activities there. I am in a new neighborhood too be closer to my family.My daughter lives close so I am often there. I also started going to a little group that makes blankets to donate. It is hard to go from having a partner in life to being alone.I noticed if I just stay in by myself I start to get really depressed. I asked my older sister to have me over for dinner once a wk to.I don't cook to healthy & she gets lonely too so that has helped.

Sorry for your loss. I am also struggling with the loneliness. I try to stay busy, but it never goes away. (hug)

I also struggle with missing my husband and being alone. We were very close, and I miss him. Always will... Today had to deal with handyman and termite company annual inspection, then a major computer problem. All things he would have handled. Felt good everything got fixed and done, but my heart heavy he is not here.

It has been 9 months since I lost the love of my life and I too have to deal with the loneliness. I find it easier if I stay busy and don't stay around the house alone too much. This week has been tougher as I just sold our mountain cabin. It was his "piece of heaven". I just try to stay focused on my goals of downsizing. Hang in there. We are all here for you.

It will be 3 years in a couple of days. I went right back to work after the funeral, have not stop since then. It kept me going. I try making friends at a new church not too good at it. I am not good at small talk but it gets me out of the house. I plan to get back into my hobbies when I retire some time soon. The loneliness still haven't hit me since I am accustomed to being alone. I treat his absence like he is on a business trip. Sometime when I remember some moments of him, I felt a bit gut wrenching and I thank him for all the happy years he has given me and I moved forward.

It has been four months. I am a fairly solitary person, but am very lonely and miss my husband. He was the centre of my life and that leaves such a hole. I work once or twice a week, spend lots of time with my grandchildren and go out for dinner with friends a couple of time a month. I spend a lot time trying to downsize the stuff we have accumulated in 40 years together. I find my life much smaller and am struggling to find meaning. Maybe getting by is enough for now. Hugs, Patti

I am so sorry for your loss. It has been 33 months for me since my husband died unexpectedly. Loneliness is the biggest issue for me. I had not been retired a full year when he died and I think I would be better off if I was still working, but my husband had been retired 14 years and I lived for "someday" when I retired and we could do more things together. I am very depressed due to spending so much time alone. I figured it up and in the last two years, out of 730 days, I have spent 709 of them alone. I do have a dog. This does not count going for appointments and grocery store of course, but the house is very quiet and I get up to no one and go to bed with no one. I wish I could give you some advice, but if you have anyone that you can visit or walk with, that would probably help. Take care of yourself as best you can. A big hug to you. pj1952

The constant aloneness is so very hard, isn't it? For me, too, it isn't just a lack of people to be around, it is the lack of emotional support, someone to lean on to gain strength back. I was absolutely empty emotionally when my husband died with several months of caregiving and the stress of his death and when I looked around there was just no one that I could lean on for help and support. It is so very hard to have to pull yourself up out of the pit.

I am very sorry that you have to go through all of this and don't have any magic words to make it better. All I can say is that with time the emptiness becomes more bearable. I am at 2 and a half years now and the pain from the emptiness is less sharp than it was for the first year or so.

My teenage son lives with me now, and while he's not much of a talker, we do both miss my wife/his mom. We live closer to my daughter so she visits more often. Also, I'm now geographically closer to some other relatives, so I expect to see them more than I used to. No rush though. One day at a time.

I understand how you feel with loneliness. About a month and a half ago I started a "meetup" group for widows and widowers in my area (I posted about it here to say it's going very well).

My purpose in starting the group as simply to make new friends and to have something to look forward to. Also, it is important to me to connect with others who share this "widowhood" experience, because being with people who haven't been through it, even family members, is uncomfortable sometimes.

So I highly recommend looking for a meetup group in your area on meetup.com, or making one yourself. It's a small monthly fee ($6.00) to put a new group on the meetup website, and I've been so pleased with my little group. We are having our third event tonight (a beginner Yoga class at a Yoga studio near me).
We made it clear it's not a dating group or site, it's a friendship group, and we are already feeling really connected to each other. Good luck to you!

I agree with Lisa's suggestion to look on meetup.com to see if there is a group that you might want to join.

I'll also add two things that worked for me:

A. I joined a grief support group through GriefShare and made some wonderful friends there. You can enter your zip code on their website griefshare.org to see if a group meets near you.

B. In Pennsylvania, there's an organization called Diakon Senior Living Services. They conduct free and inexpensive classes, hold group meetings for those with similar interests (photography, kayaking, gardening, etc.), and book day-trips to nearby places of interest. Perhaps there is a similar organization near where you live. Contact your local senior center or county tourism office to see if they have info.

Of course, coming here to DS regularly has been a tremendous help when I'm lonely. Someone is always willing to listen and offer support.

Wishing you peace . . .

Also struggling with the loneliness. Didn't have many friends while my husband was alive as we were enough for each other. Why would I want to spend time with anyone else? Now dealing with the gaping hole his death has left.

Thanks Lisa for the meetup group suggestion. I'm going to check it out. I know I'm the only one who can change my situation.

Not sure I'm helping you Kdonb other than to tell you you're not alone. Hugs, Liz.