been separated for two years and lonely and do not know how to find happiness again
what a crazy year with covid-19 and i am stuck not knowing how to start to find friends first and hope to lead elsewhere. i would love to hear from others on how they are dealing with this issue? thank you
@ollie9272
Regarding finding friends and people to interact with during COVID-19 restrictions, here are some ideas that worked for me.
1) Find friends on line by attending regularly scheduled Zoom sessions on topics that you are interested in. Then you will meet people that you can interact with virtually and feel connected. You can search the web for such Zoom sessions. FOR EXAMPLE you could try eventbrite.com to find free Zoom events. Or you could attend sessions that charge also.
FOR EXAMPLE here's a free ZOOM session host on eventbrite.com that does Zumba exercise sessions regularly. They also have chats when done. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/claire-dempster-29366358561
2) Join on-line communities and interact actively on topics you are interested in. That will also give a feeling of connectedness.
3) Find YouTube channels that you are interested in that do LIVE broadcasting on a regular basis. You can join in when they go-live by participating in the text chat. You can text chat with others who are also watching the broadcast. That can give a nice feeling of connectedness and events to look forward to.
4) You could improve your friendship skills here by watching these fun podcasts.
REGARDING MAKING GOOD FRIENDS AND ADJUSTING FRIENDSHIPS
If you want make new friends, try these fun-to-listen-to podcasts.
A good first step to break out of feeling lonely is . . .
TAKE BACK YOUR POWER to make things happen!. . .
Reach out and find new friends in real-life.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS
IN THE 3 FUN PODCASTS BELOW.
Podcast 1 starts out silly about using a spreadsheet, but gets very interesting and covers "How to have find and keep friendships". Lots of great ideas, suggestions, and insights are provided that are proven to work.
Click on the [Minute Listen] blue bar on the web pages.
Each podcast wraps up with "take-aways". I guarantee you will learn surprising new things that will help you in real-life.
Poodcast 1 - Accept The Awkwardness: How To Make Friends and keep them
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/15/751479810/make-new-friends-and-keep-the-old
Podcast 2 - When Friendships Change, How To Cope
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/19/752412010/when-friendship-changes-how-to-cope
Podcast 3 - Men Can Have Better Friendships. Here's How (not just for guys!)
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/19/752412752/men-can-have-better-friendships-heres-how
Please forgive any typos above.