I feel like isolating myself, but deep inside I am very lonely. What do I do?

This is a very common feeling when you're depressed, you begin to isolate yourself from friends and even family. If you find that you're feeling lonely as well it can be very confusing, I would suggest taking small steps to start connecting with others again. You could start by chatting online, to one of the listeners here at 7cups so that you're reaching out without having to be physically near anyone. Once you start to open up and feel better you could have short periods of time with others, for example sharing a cup of tea with a friend but having a time limit on it so that it doesn't feel overwhelming. Then build from there until you are at a place that's comfortable for you

What are you afraid will happen if you were around other people? What are you more afraid of: That ^ or continuing to be alone? If being alone is what you really wanted you wouldn't be questioning it. So the question is what are you trying to isolate yourself from? How would things have to be for you to WANT to be around others? What would it be like if being around others was easy? Social isolation is a dangerous thing to mess with. While it is perfectly fine to prefer your own company and be introverted, but giving up a social life completely is not advisable because it will make you crazy and can be a real challenge to get out of. Speaking from experience. It seems to me there is something deeper that is motivating you to run away from others. What is it? and what needs to happen for you to overcome it?

This is most likely a sign of social anxiety. Social Anxiety can influence your interactions with people, as well as the way you feel about talking and spending time with others. As humans, we naturally want to be around other people. We are social creatures. But social anxiety may cause a fear reaction with the thought of being around others, hence the want for isolation. The best thing you can do is seek professional support from a mental health provider, as they can provide therapy and medicine for this type of problem. This is best to be handled soon, as it can be detrimental in the long term.

If you feel like isolating yourself you must do it. And if you are lonely you must try to embrace yourself more and try to enjoy your company. I know isolation is needed at times, so take your time to get yourself together. Its ok to not socialize for a brief time. Every one had their private bubble. When you had enough time to sort things out you can find yourself in a group to break the lonely crystal. You know that's the magic. You can do whatever you want, only potion needed is to give some efforts and follow your heart. And the main key is LOVE YOURSELF. :) I HOPE YOU SORT THINGS AND FIND HAPPINESS

I understand how you feel, I've felt something close to that. You want to isolate and distance yourself but you are truly quite lonely. It seems you're scared. I believe you should trust in yourself and spend some time with yourself. I'm not here to give advice, unfortunately, but I believe this is something you will conquer! Loneliness is one of the worst feelings in the world and it can be very suffocating. You are a great and beautiful person and someone hasn't seen that yet! Sometimes being brave is very helpful, who knows where it will lead you?

It’s ok, take a few days for yourself but make sure it doesn’t become a habit go take to your neighbors classmates even to you parents about how your day was this will help brighten your mood.If you can’t pull your self off o do it push your self into the sun where u can be reborn it will help make new friends or talk to old ones make a bucket list and keep your self busy if not u will end up lost in your thoughts which will not lead to a good thing ok take great care :)

It’s okay to want to be alone, but also want some level of social interaction. My energy levels for socialising get drained very quickly and I’m used to being on my own. But I have found that I can isolate myself too much. I’ve found that when I do this, small goals can help like aiming to talk to someone every day or contacting a friend at least once a week. I found that if I’m out of the habit of socialising I do it less and less. I find that having commitments also helps - if I need to meet up with someone at a particular time I’ll be there, so volunteering as helps in getting me out and about.

You may start with small steps such as reaching out to others on reputable sites such as 7cups. Share your feelings with listeners and maybe move to small groups and build a support base once you are comfortable. Create bigger goals broken into small manageable milestones and share them with your online support system so you have accountability partners to work on your goals with. Then work on each step and share your successes and your setbacks. Supportive people will celebrate your progress and offer support when you reach an obstacle. If you experience social anxiety you can start with small venues such as going to a coffee shop or a park to read. Then you may progress to events where you interact with others such as a cooking class or a community event. Getting involved in things in which you have interest makes it easier to connect with others because you all share the same interest. For example, if you love photography, take a class or join a local club, or if you like exercise, go to a class at a local gym and eventually you will become familiar with others and be able to strike up a conversation. If social anxiety is preventing you from taking small steps, you may need to work with a therapist to get professional insight and help to be able to take your first steps.

We feel lonely when we are unable to communicate with others , when we feel outcast , misunderstood , bullied or sometimes just because we don't want to bother others with our emotions that we see as an ISSUE for us. And when we feel lonely the best therapy we could think of is isolating ourselves , we pull our guards up and don't let anyone in because of all the unpleasant experiences we have already had. To some extent it's okay too , I mean protecting ourselves is not a bad idea, it just becomes a concern when we deny to come out of this isolation , when our fears are so big that they doesn't allow us to trust another human. But honestly speaking there are beautiful people in the world who are willing to hold our hand and guide us through this darkness of loneliness , all it needs us is to ask for it. How can we make that one relationship/friendship work if we grow our Walls and doesn't give that 1 out of 100 people a chance with whom we connect? Give yourself a chance by giving them an opportunity to know you. I think if you deal with loneliness , you might not feel the need to isolate yourself. Try to participate in life whether it's about taking walk in a park , talking to family/friends/strangers , listening to your favorite music , reading a book , treating yourself in a restaurant, exploring some new dimension of life or any other thing of your interest. Just do it. I know it will take every ounce of energy to do this but believe me it will be worthy at the end 😊

Maybe instead of completely isolating yourself, participate in solo activities or find a hobby/something you enjoy and are interested in. Completely cutting yourself is likely to not do you any good, just learn to enjoy your own company, and always speak to someone about how you feel as it's not always easy to deal with problems alone. Speak about how you feel with friends and family and people you trust and they may be able to help you in ways you couldn't help yourself. Talking to someone, whether they're a friend or a stranger, helps more than people think.

It is normal for all of us to feel lonely from time to time. May be it is time to ask what you need and want the most at this very moment. Do you have any void in your life? What do you see when you look yourself in the mirror? Are you happy with being who you are? Do you have family and friends? Are you comfortable being with a close group of friends ? Or are you comfortable being with a large group of friends? What do you do when you’re alone? Ask yourself what you want the most right now.

As an introvert, having down time is important. But when you are isolating yourself too much, you are getting yourself an unhealthy habit. Sticking with an unhealthy habit for too long and you get yourself an unhealthy lifestyle. When you feel lonely, going out to meet strangers is a great way to break the habit. As a side not: volunteering can be life-saving for little hermit crabs.I am talking from my own experience. I was a little hermit crab, who loved staying home and eating snacks too much. Up till university, I had the tendency to isolate myself. My family shamed me for not being social at all and not putting efforts into network. I got scared of other people and I had problem talking with people outside of my family. Even after university, I found it difficult to seek job opportunities and deal with interviews. Then I started to volunteer for different non-profit organizations. Along the way I have learnt to cope with interacting with strangers. I got less and less nervous when I am doing public speaking. I am glad that I took the first step even though I know I have a long way to go to become what I want to be. It is normal to be afraid when you are not in your comfort zone. There is a quote, saying "Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear." I can't agree more. I encourage you to make some change everyday. One step at a time. One day when you look back, you will find out and be proud of how much you have achieved through small steps.

Try to be nice to yourself. Do little things that make you feel better. You have to take care of yourself before you can be the best for others and be there for them, you are the most important person in your life so take self care very seriously. I know it is hard to pull yourself out of the funk some times but you will come back to wanting to be around people again and feel like you want to be social again soon. It is an ebb and flow, everyone has low time and it makes the high times feel so much better!

I have been here many times myself. Sometimes, I find that the best thing for me to do in this situation is to go outside. I don't need to talk to anyone, or do anything in particular. When I lived in a city, I would just walk to a park, and listen to people talk and laugh. I know the desire to isolate oneself can be really strong. I also have some social anxiety/introverted tendencies, so sometimes I get even more tired and lonely and frustrated when I talk to people, but just going for a walk outside will help reset my mood. Everyone is different, though, so try to find something that works for you!

When you feel like isolating yourself you probably aren't enjoying your surroundings. is it true? In such a case it feels weird and confusing and i completely understand it . But ask yourself what is the one thing you enjoy doing ? what makes you happy ? And keep doing it. you will find it soothing once you do what you like doing . And loneliness doesn't always require people to be healed. You can feel less lonely and happy with yourself. So if you do feel like being alone its fine . Do what you want to and enjoy it. Focus on yourself and you will no longer be lonely

Maybe you could try reaching out to some trusted friends or family. Let them know how you are feeling and think of a few ways they may be able to help you through this. For example, they could consider reaching out to you when it seems like you are starting to isolate yourself more. I have struggled with similar challenges in the past, and I found it really helpful to open up to one or two trusted friends who now reach out, just to check on me, when they haven't heard much from me in a few days. Perhaps something like this could help?

As cliché as it sounds, reaching out to people is usually what helps me the most when I'm feeling isolated. In order for it to be helpful however, you have to be honest about how you feel. Opening up is most difficult at the beginning. Trying to open up to somebody can often feel forced and unnatural. It helps to start off small. For example, just a few years ago when people asked me how I was doing I would always have the default answer of 'I'm good'. This was because I thought my problems would be a burden to others, or that they simply wouldn't care or couldn't help me. But in most cases this isn't true. It is true however that sometimes opening up is going to lead to some awkward conversations. And sometimes the person your talking to may not know the right thing to say or do but that's okay. The main benefit to opening up to others, at least for me, is that I was finally being honest. And this honesty made me feel more connected to others than I had been in years.

We feel like that sometimes because we want to know if someone cares. If someone will respond to our desperate calls for help one thing you should know is that before you expect someone to help you you should help yourself. You should be comfortable in your own skin. Then we would not be scared that no one will catch us if we fall. Your thoughts start to change and that positive outlook will attract positive people in you life. Just trust yourself that is all that matters. Learn to accept and love yourself for who you were, who you are and finally who you hope to become one day

Hey there, I would say set little challenges. Like go outside for just 2 minutes. When you complete a challenge, reward your self, say well done or do something good for yourself. This will cause a positive spiral where you can keep doing small challenges. It doesn't matter how well or bad it went as long as you did it that's what you reward! I have done this myself to improve my social anxiety and it has been really effective for me and hopefully you too! Know that you can do it :) I hope this helps you, thank you :)

I think it's important to set goals for yourself that feel comfortable and reasonable. Sometimes feeling of loneliness can make us sad and help us slip us deeper into isolation. One technique to try would be setting a goal of having one conversation with a friend this week. You may enjoy talking to them and end up setting plans. This is a good way to allow things to happen naturally so you don't have to step too far out of your comfort zone. Also, if you are looking to talk to some people on here there are several groups you can join based on various different topics. These people can be great to talk to as they may be going through something similar to you!

Loneliness is a difficult emotion to manage. It is difficult to know whether some isolation is required to reflect on outcomes or if there should be support there. To move forward it is best to be around people who have a positive attitude. This will rub off on you and you will start exuding positivity also. Striking a healthy balance whilst achieving this positivity can be difficult for some as they are stuck in a rut and not able to envisage a positive path forward. Being stuck in this rut is frustrating as all you appear to do is go round in circles and chase your tail.

Sometimes we can feel like isolating ourselves from other people but we can become very lonely deep inside.It isn't healthy to keep things bottled up as it can make you feel worse,easier said than done to not bottle your feelings ,secrets etc. I suggest you telling someone how you feel like a listener or you can always talk to someone you know.If you keep your feelings inside for even a little it can impact you greatly.You can try to reach out to people to try to not feel as lonely and it could help but it might not always work

Journaling or talking to someone might help you work out your feelings. Reach out to a trusted friend or family member and share with them how you feel. If you're having trouble figuring out who to call, think about using 7 Cups to talk to a listener. Or you may reach out to someone you don't usually talk to and just ask if they would mind talking to you about how you're feeling. If you're talking to a friend or family member, ask them how they're feeling as well. Listen to one another with compassion and brainstorm together about ways that you might help one another.

I think the solution to this problem is to reach out selectively. If you feel like isolating yourself, you must have a reason. What you'll have to do, then, is find a way to reach out to others that does not contradict your reason for self-isolating. From there, it takes time, effort, and trust: time to develop relationships that are not just meaningful to others, but are meaningful to you, and battle against that loneliness; effort to change the way you look at your life, as it can be very easy to see a change in your life and adapt it to your preexisting view of your life, which seems to be one that allows for this loneliness. It may seem like a daunting task, to change your worldview, but it does not have to be all at once. Few major changes in life happen quickly, and this is no exception. The path to this change is individual, so I can't outline anything, but you must be willing and able to put in this effort. Finally, trust: you must put your trust in others to provide what you need. You don't need to tell them what you need, but you need to trust that you'll find the people who will lead you into a brighter time. Trust is probably the most vague of these three requirements, but it is necessary.

The fact that you are lonely means u need someone u trust in life to show u whats not going well in ur situation. Isolating urself is never the answer. Isolating yourself will just take you deeper and deeper with it and finally when you want to get out if that it will not let you. You would have no friends left to look up to . No family members that you are on good terms with. Talking to a trusted person will help you understand and solve it for good. That is my opinion you could disagree with it but still give it a though

it’s completely normal to want to distance yourself from people due to social awkwardness, anxiety or trust issues but everyone needs a small amount of human conversation and affection. the best way to open up to others is to spend more time with your family and close friends. making even a small effort to start conversations with new people or getting in touch with people you used to speak to can get you basic human interactions within your boundaries. remember, getting outside your comfort zone once in a while is what will help you get over these problems and grow as a person :)

If you feel like isolating yourself, why do you feel like doing that? Do you not feel like putting the effort into socializing? Consider who you are contemplating spending time with. Maybe you are associating with the wrong people which is making you anxious and lonely. If you really think you want to isolate yourself, then do so. Sit there and you will get bored and want to do something. Who is the number one person you feel most comfortable with who is also a healthy individual in your life? Spend time with them. Also consider isolating yourself because maybe you need time to understand why you feel lonely. Spend some time to think about what about yourself causes you to bore yourself. How can you make yourself more entertaining to yourself? Personally, I find myself happier when isolated. But when isolated, I complete productive tasks that make me feel accomplished. Maybe you have things to do.

Isolation can add to loneliness, and it's tough to get through that. What might be helpful is to reach out to someone you trust and can talk to so that they also know you are lonely and isolating. That way, when you isolate, you'll not be lonely, and when you're lonely, you won't be isolated. Another option is to embrace the fear you may feel, tough as it may be, and ask yourself what is at the heart of it. Is it rational? Is it real? Often it's a perception or anticipation of something that brings us to this conclusion.

Sometimes the saying “fake it till you make it” actually works. I understand it can be hard to hang out with people if you feel like isolating, in fact don’t be hard on yourself! Take it easy, go slow, maybe meet the people you care about the most first and one day, as you keep up with this journey, you will be able to confidently be with other people without feeling uncomfortable. It is ok to be an introvert or to be shy, however it is different than wanting to isolate for a long period of time. Taking time for yourself is amazing, but keep in mind you can’t avoid people forever, they are a part of your life. Balance is what’s best, always. There is beauty in this world and if you haven’t already, you will meet wonderful people who will prove this beauty and won’t make you want to isolate yourself.

I feel the same way often. It's very difficult to put trust into other people to alleviate loneliness, and it feels more secure to spend time on your own then put yourself in front of possible judgement from others. I do not speak for your personal experience, but in my own I have spent a lot of time on my own in my room away from my three roommates. I would rarely ever come out. But one day when I agreed to go on an outing with them, they told me that I was a nice person and that even preferred me over a previous roommate. I was baffled, I was so worried that I was a terrible person and that I was bothering them just by existing. I guess what I'm trying to say is, putting your trust in someone you feel at least somewhat comfortable around is a good decision. Yes, sadly that does make you vulnerable, but more often than not people can surprise you with some positive statements that you weren't aware of. And plus, you can reward yourself for going on an outing or talking to someone when you normally wouldn't. Socializing is genuinely difficult, and you absolutely should be proud of when you do it! I won't lie to you, there will be some times when people don't react in the most positive way. But every positive experience gives you more strength over loneliness, and I guarantee you already are a tougher person than you think you are. Keep going, comrade.