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Try some of these strategies to tackle about something you care about, give
loneliness: advice on a forum, or have a video call with
• Practice your self-kindness. Limit a friend. The more you interact with others
negative self-talk. Take care of yourself. while online, the more connected you are
• Capitalize on the present moment. likely to feel.
When you feel good about something, • Stop focusing so much on yourself.
share it with others right away, and I do Shift your focus on what you can give,
not mean “share” by posting on your social instead.
media…talk! • Spend money on experiences. This is
• Connect with people in real life. We way better for our mental health. So get
do this by looking people in the eyes, creative and think about what you want
listening, being mindful, and choosing to do with others. For example, I might go
not be distracted by our phones or other on a canoeing trip, go wine tasting, plan a
technologies. beach party, or host an arts & crafts night.
• Rethink how you spend your spare What group activities might make you feel
time. When we feel lonely, sometimes less lonely?
we just want to retreat into a corner and • Pay attention to the things that
hide. Other times, our endless to-do list matter. How do we expect to improve
may leave us too exhausted to go out and our loneliness when we don’t know what
be social. But opting to stay alone every causes it? It’s hard. So it’s helpful to start
night with our phones, watching Netflix, paying attention to the present moment.
or playing on Facebook can really get us What are the experiences that make you
stuck in loneliness. We have created a feel lonely? And what are the experiences
life for ourselves that deprives of us of that make you feel connected or like you
meaningful social connection, and the belong? Identifying these moments can
only way to get out of it is to start living help you reduce loneliness, because you
differently. can limit your engagement in activities that
• Do more things with people. Engaging make you feel lonely and increase your
in face-to-face social interactions tends to engagement in activities that make you feel
improve our mood and reduce depression. connected.
• Talk to strangers. A growing body of • Create a vision board. I keep a vision
research suggests that even seemingly board tacked up by my desk to remind
trivial interactions with strangers—like me of my goals. A big chunk of my vision
chatting with a barista or cashier—may be board is about connecting – counselling
able to keep loneliness at bay by helping us youngsters, spending time with family
feel more socially connected. So reach out and my dogs, and the like. Sometimes I
to other human beings to say hello. have a hard time sticking to it, but having
• Be active online. Instead of passively the vision board reminds me to. Once you
surfing the net or your social media, if discover the things that make you feel
you want to go online, opt instead to less lonely and more connected, it can be
do something that involves the active helpful to create a board or list or plan for
participation of other people. For example, what you will do - something to keep near
you could play games with others, chat you so you remember what you need to do
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