Not Alone Series: Loneliness

We all have times when we feel alone. What are ways that you combat loneliness? Pray? Join a group? How can we encourage each other to stay positive?
Thanks to Laura P!

Oh Loneliness….this is a good topic and I’ve loved reading through all the posts this week.

Loneliness is something I really struggle with on and off. And yes there are times when everyone is lonely no matter what phase of life. However, I think for singles it just seems to be more obvious. Granted I’ve never been married so I can’t really speak for them.

I moved to Florida 4 years ago and it’s been a struggle to find local friends. This blog was started partially due to the lack of community I had locally. There are times I go to events and socials and feel like everyone already has friends, and significant others that it’s hard to get a word into their conversations and get to know new people on a deeper level.

I also feel like it’s really hard to talk about being lonely to other people because it freaks people out. People aren’t sure how to react. Should they feel sorry for you, pray for you, or give you unsolicited advice as to why you are lonely..which then leads to those awkward “You’re such a great person why are you single?!!?” conversations.

There was even a period of time last year when I HATED going to mass alone amongst all the families and couples. I actually ended up switching parishes due to this at one point as well. I DREADED going to mass for a period of time because I hated feeling so alone at the one place I felt like I shouldn’t feel alone.

So what do I do when loneliness creeps in?

Honestly, first I usually cry. Yeah I’m not very good at handling this feeling. Then I try to get out of the house. Even if it’s just to go to Starbucks and surf the internet and people watch. Usually changing my surroundings helps. I also try and go to Adoration. Even if all I do in adoration is argue with God in my head it’s usually really helpful because Jesus is there.

For awhile loneliness was really creeping in on the weekend when I didn’t have any plans. So I started going to my moms house and having dinner with her and my sister and spending time with them. They aren’t girlfriends or dates but they are family and fun to be with. We all recently purchased scooters we leave at my moms house and ride them around town, which is a lot of fun!

Sometimes I’ll browse meetup.com groups but lately I haven’t seen anything interesting on there. I think this time of year a lot of things tend to slow down. I’m hoping things start to pick-up. I did an Advent study at a parish during Advent and I’m hoping they do a series for Lent as well. I really enjoyed it.

I’m really thankful for the Not Alone Series and all my online, twitter and blogging friends that has gotten me through this period of time. I honestly am not sure how I would have made it through some of the days without them.

Thanks for Jen and Morgan for hosting!