Loneliness
When you love your own company
you never will feel alone
Do you hate being on your own?
Loneliness is on the increase, partly due to the pandemic and also fueled by the breakdown in communities. Feeling lonely causes mental health issues and weakens immune systems causing ill health.
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As an introvert/empath I enjoy time alone. In fact, I need it and crave it. I need to have space to decompress, think, and release negative energy. Yet, on the flip side, I don’t like long periods of isolation.
When we lived in the Swiss Alps, in a perfect ‘chocolat box’ chalet, I loved the summer and was quite happy taking walks and exploring the mountains, alpine meadows and sitting by the river that flowed through the woods. It was my ‘paradise’ in summer. However, as the long winter progressed, I often ended up feeling trapped. The snow and ice created barriers meaning that I wouldn’t go out.
My husband travelled to work in Zurich for 2-3 days per week, leaving at 5am and returning at 9pm. I spent those long days without speaking to anyone. I detested the loneliness and struggled being so much on my own. Of course, living in such a small close-knit village who spoke a dialect I couldn’t understand, made it so much harder as we were seen as ‘outsiders’, and would always be so.
Over the course of six years living there, I began to loathe it and regretted our decision to move from Zurich, where I had friends, a good job and great friends.
Loneliness is like a disease which consumes you from the inside.
When we returned to the UK, I thought it would be easy to settle in. I would no longer feel lonely – no language barrier and lots of groups to join and activities to try.
However, we arrived back just as the COVID pandemic struck, which forced us into lockdowns and isolation. It was challenging, and I struggled. Everything I had been seeking was taken away. Boy, it felt like a personal kick in the teeth from the Universe. I was angry, frustrated and bitter, which spiralled me down into depression. I know that many other people struggled too with the feeling of being cut off from loved-ones, while others enjoyed having time at home doing things they normally never had time for.
Only working through my own issues and getting the right support, I managed to survive the darkness. I found away back to myself and was reminded how important it is to LOVE YOURSELF. Once, I found my way back to SELF-LOVE, it was a game changer.
Now, I am happy to enjoy quality time on my own, finding ways to do things I enjoy alone and relish the time I spend with friends and family on my own terms.
When you learn to fall in love with yourself,
you become your own best friend
– one you enjoy spending time with.
UNLOCK YOUR SOUL PURPOSE
Do you feel LOST or that something is MISSING in your Life?
You had big dreams for your life and somewhere along the way things seem to have gown off-track.
Don’t worry, there are ways to get back on track.
- Rediscover WHO YOU TRULY ARE
- Rekindle your PASSION for life and tap into your INNER WISDOM
- Reconnect with your own INTERNAL GPS – YOUR SOUL.
EPISODE 19: About LONELINESS
This week’s episode Caroline and Janet talk about the emotional and physical effects of LONELINESS and isolation, and how to overcome it and learn to be happy ALONE.