How Not to Feel Depressed When Lonely?

In today’s fast-paced life, it is common to cut off from others and live alone due to a lack of time. While living alone comes with its own benefits, such as fewer social obligations and better time management, it also has a downside. Research suggests that adults living alone are up to 80 percent more likely to deal depressed and sadness. However, this does not mean that people who live solo have to continue bearing these depressive episodes forever. With a few strategies and everyday tips, it is possible to boost your mood on your own and overcome depression even without having anyone by your side.

 Why are you Feeling Depressed? Exploring the Causes

People can feel loneliness leading to depression due to a number of reasons. In most cases, the cause is a collection of different factors. Some of these may include:

●     Relocating to a new area, away from everyone

●     Retirement or unemployment

●     Recent bereavement

●     End of a relationship or divorce

●     Going through seasonal events, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas

●     Changing school, college, university, or workplace

●     Experiencing an underlying mental health condition of addiction

 How Not to Feel Depressed When Lonely?

If you have been feeling a bit under the weather and have no one around to cheer you up, consider trying the following tips:

Find a Volunteer Opportunity

Volunteer opportunities are abundantly available everywhere and allow individuals to contribute their time and energy to a good cause. Additionally, it can also provide lonely people a chance to fight off their depression as they finally get something to spend time with. Volunteer activities have also been shown to ease stress, help connect with others and make friends and people happier. This sense of happiness, connection, and fulfillment can even reduce the associated feelings of loneliness that some people might have.

Consider trying out one of the following ideas to engage in a volunteering activity:

●     Visit a nursing home

●     Work in a soup kitchen

●     Volunteer at a children’s hospital

●     Join an animal shelter

●     Read to kids at school

 Make a Gratitude List

Whenever an individual is feeling low or depressed, they are more likely to focus on the negatives in life which may make these feelings even worse. One thing that can be done to reduce this practice is to make a gratitude list. Make it a habit to grab a piece of paper and a pencil and write down five things that make you happy or are grateful for. Repeat this practice every day for some time and keep going through this list a couple of times a day to ensure that your mind is focusing on the positives. This habit will help you become more aware of the positive and good things in life and pay more attention to them instead of thinking about the negatives and feeling low.

 Join a Club

For solo people who are depressed, joining a club or a group can be a good way to break the cycle of low mood. Depending on where they live, they may have access to different types of clubs and groups where they can find people and activities with common interests. Even if physically attending these groups does not appeal to you, consider trying online communities and clubs.

 Indulge in Activities You Enjoy

Spending time on unfulfilling activities can often lead to boredom, low mood, and depression. These feelings, in turn, may also trigger loneliness in people living solo. Hence, devote your free time to things that you truly enjoy doing as a way to respect yourself. Hobbies form an essential part of self-care that can improve a person’s outlook and give them more energy for meaningful connections.

 Practice Self-Care

Engaging in self-care is a powerful way to overcome depression and other associated symptoms. Consider performing the following activities to take better care of yourself:

●     Exercise has been proven to stimulate the production and relief of endorphins in the brain. Also known as the happy hormones, endorphins elevate mood and induce feelings of happiness to make people happy.

●     Sunshine works in a similar way to exercise by triggering the production of good hormones, such as serotonin and endorphins. However, follow the safety guidelines before heading out in the sun.

●     Sleep quality has been closely associated with emotional health. Poor sleep quality or a lack or loss of sleep can aggravate feelings of loneliness and depression. Hence, experts suggest practicing healthy sleep habits, such as limiting sugar and caffeine before bed, turning off digital devices close to bedtime, and making the bedroom dark and quiet.

●     A healthy diet can highly affect the health of the brain. Consuming a diet full of preservatives, sugar, and processed foods can negatively impact emotional and physical health. So try eating whole foods for some time to see if it helps with low mood.

 When to Consider Seeking Therapy and Professional Help?

If you are unable to shake off the proud feelings of depression and sadness along with other similar symptoms, consider talking to a mental health professional. Look for someone with a cognitive behavioral background who can effectively use evidence-based therapies to help you fight depression. Professional help is ideally recommended if your depressive symptoms:

●     Persist even when you try to manage them

●     Cause problems in other relationships

●     Leave you feeling worthless or hopeless

●     Do not improve after two weeks

●     Affect your ability to do daily tasks or take care of yourself

 Therapy can offer a safe space to everyone so that they can get to the bottom of their symptoms, pinpoint potential causes, and overcome them with the support and guidance of professionals. Moreover, it also helps people acquire productive coping strategies and learn healthy emotional regulation to keep such depressive spells away in the future.

Disclaimer : The above is a sponsored article and the views expressed are those of the sponsor/author and do not represent the stand and views of The Tribune editorial in any manner.