091: Discovering Strategies to Combat Loneliness

If you suddenly passed away today, would someone come looking for you?! Would anyone wonder where you disappeared to? Would your dog eat you? How long would it take for someone to come knocking down your door to find you? One can only hope it’s ASAP. It’s a strange thought, but one we’ve all confronted in the past in one form or another, usually at our lowest low point. 

For one woman, this scary thought experiment was a grim, unfortunate reality. On January 25, 2006, members of a housing association in northern London were heading out to repossess an apartment that hadn’t paid it’s rent for a LONG TIME. They made their way into the living quarters and found a horrifying scene before them—a bunch of unopened Christmas presents on the floor, a stack of unopened mail by the door, a television set to the BBC network…and a skeleton lying on the couch.

Quote: “The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

Could you imagine how Joyce Carol Vincent felt in her final moments?! Her world collapsing around her with no one and nowhere to seemingly turn to. Loneliness is a WIDESPREAD, global crisis. Sociologists have found that nearly 15% of Americans will die alone, and that figure will continue to increase over the coming years. In various surveys in both the United States and Europe, anywhere from 30% to 60% of the populace reports feeling lonely and/or says that they have little to NO meaningful in-person interactions. 

Re-imagining and re-purposing YOUR spare time is ESSENTIAL. When we feel lonely, sometimes we just want to retreat into a corner and escape from the world. Choosing to stay in solitude night after night with our phones, watching TikTok dances, or playing 8-Ball Pool w/ Viktor from Bulgaria can really get us stuck in a dangerous pattern of loneliness. 

-Join an Interest Based Local/Community Group/Club

-Volunteer Remotely or in REAL LIFE

-Nurture Existing Relationships

-Engage in Positive Internal Dialogue

Feeling lonely is temporary – it’s not a permanent state, unless you allow it to be. productive manner. Have you ever experienced loneliness? I would love to hear your tips for coping with loneliness that you found successful.

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