Loneliness - you are not alone

Loneliness is when you feel the quality of your relationships and social contact is not as good as you’d like it to be. You don’t have to be alone to feel lonely - people with lots of friends and family and active social lives can still feel lonely if they don’t have strong connections with the people around them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased feelings of loneliness as we faced reduced social contact and isolation. Remote working has played a big part for some people. They’ve missed the experience of being in the office and being with colleagues, and that’s left them feeling lonely. With home schooling, there isn’t that playground interaction, even with the big shift to online shopping there is less human interaction than going to the shops.

Loneliness can lead to anxiety and depression. It can also be connected to issues such as low self-esteem, low self-confidence, stress and social anxiety. It can affect anyone, of any age, but some groups of people are more at risk. 

Younger people may face loneliness as they navigate their changing lives. Their teenage years can be a lonely time. They are discovering who they are and moving into adulthood, this can leave them feel isolated and lonely. Given that all teenagers will have had massive restrictions put onto leisure time and social interactions with peers and others by the implementation of home schooling, even when school returned there were constricting rules put into place such as class/year group segregations, the cancellation of extracurricular activities etc.

Older people may become increasing lonely as families move away, they lose friends or relatives, or failing health leaves them unable to join in with social activities. There are some practical things that anyone struggling could do. Such as exploring social groups or community organisations to get involved in. Finding groups of people with similar interests may help you build that connection you’ve been missing. Or make a phone call, have a chat to a friend or relative; sometimes that one conversation can really help improve your day.

Sometimes the hardest step is admitting you’re lonely. It’s really important you confide in people. There is help out there. Understanding why you feel this way can be key.

Counseling can help you to explore and understand how you’re feeling and give you coping skills to deal with your loneliness.

A counsellor won’t judge you, and you can talk openly about what you’re going through. They can help you understand when you feel most lonely and what causes you to feel this way, and they'll support you to find out what you can do about it.