Dealing with Loneliness during this COVID-19 Pandemic

Loneliness

Is it really a bad thing?

or just a normal natural emotion in the range of colorful emotions we all feel as humans.

I think it's okay to feel lonely.
Instead of fighting the emotion, lean into it, experience it and allow it to flow through you and out of you.

Especially if it's loneliness surrounding an event (in this case we are all quarantined), don't be in denial of the circumstances that trigger your loneliness.

How am I dealing with loneliness now?

1. I acknowledge what am feeling.

2. I try to exercise to shake off the negativity of the emotion.

3.I call that friend that I KNOW WILL MAKE ME LAUGH.

4. I watch a funny movie or comedy show to make me laugh.

5. I journal my feeling and try to figure out what is triggering the emotion. If I figure out the source, I ask myself if there is something I can do about it #Turnitoff.

Sometimes my loneliness is triggered by community holidays that I don't currently identify with like mother's day or father's day.

 Other times it's because of too much social media consumption and the spirit of comparison rising up in my heart because maybe I see others experiencing a stage in life I haven't currently attained like motherhood.

In those cases the solution is easy. Turn of social media and go read a book, play some feel good music, workout or connect with my friends in real time.

However, what happens when you literary cannot trace the source of your loneliness?

I think that's when you lean into it and let it go through you. 

Don't fight it. Let it be. 

That might mean taking a day off where you're not trying to be a productivity machine.

In my last wave of loneliness, I had a lazy day of working out, connecting with friends on the phone and ending the night with a nice relaxing bath with sea salts and all that jazz.

Sometimes that's all you need to do.

But I guess I most say this: Loneliness is not the same thing as depression. Whatever the case, when the emotions leaves you paralyze and unable to go through your days for a long time consult with a clinician because you might need medication to balance out your hormones. Same for if the circles repeat themselves with a high frequency and last for a long time. Consult with a clinician .

This post is just for those of us who go through the regular waves of being happy, excited, sad, hopeful and lonely as part of our human experience. You cannot and shouldn't be experiencing any of this given emotions 24/7 non stop. It's all about balance.