Coronavirus time is a lonely time. Between the restriction of even coming within 6 feet of other people and everyone being confined to their homes, things can get a little… desolate. For a few days, it may not seem so bad – you finally get the chance to relax after working seemingly forever. After a while, though it becomes painfully obvious how social of creatures we really are, and the craving for human contact is bound to grow by the way. A seemingly fleeting feeling of loneliness at first, but after a week of isolation can quickly deteriorate into depression, anxiety, and other longevity reducing mental illnesses (or at the very least, you can start to feel a little crazy). Luckily there are a number of ways to overcome this inevitable loneliness.
If you’ve got nothing but some ass hole roommate you got from Craigslist, maybe this doesn’t apply to you. That said, whether you’ve got parents, a family, or just a few homies that are sharing a place with you, spend time with them. This method is much more effective than social media for helping with loneliness. If you’re lonely, especially to the point of depression or anxiety, the absolute worst thing you can do is be alone. What’s more, it’s important to take this time to appreciate the people around you and spend time with loved ones. If you’re stuck in quarantine alone, don’t worry – there are other ways to beat loneliness.
This goes off the last point a bit – mostly because you’re going to look like a crazy person if you do this alone… if you have fam or homies around, try to simulate a public setting to the best of your abilities. Set up a bar in the kitchen and sit around with cherished loved ones drinking and chatting the night away. Perhaps set up a theater in the living room with office chairs and bean bags, pop some popcorn and break out that bag of candy you were saving. Set up some strobe lights, bust out the speakers, grab a cocktail, and get down like you’re at the club. Going to the mall might be a tough one to simulate, but not impossible! You see where I’m going with this? Good, moving on.
Better you’re craft, be it professional or recreational, exercise, practice healthy cooking, and just generally work on yourself. Now during coronavirus time, there is no better time to utilize your loneliness and focus inward. Stay healthy, stay in shape, sharpen your mind and your craft, and with any hope that should take your mind off the loneliness of quarantine enough to get you through! What’s more, loneliness can sometimes stem from poor self-esteem, so working towards feeling better and healthier certainly couldn’t hurt.
Believe it or not, video games are starting to look like the best way to communicate. Older games (from the newest consoles, but still on the older side), like GTA V and Ark, are being revisited for their online gaming value. Don’t get me wrong: single-player games are my jam and there’s a lot of great ones of late that are great for killing time, but NPCs can only take the simulation of genuine human interaction so far. That’s why for the reason of combatting loneliness, a decent online game might be better for you! Spend time with your friends adventuring in a virtual world, or go it alone and meet new friends! And try PVP (player versus player) if you want to reignite your disdain for other people! Plus, here’s a tip for meeting new people as well as getting on a team for all your favorite games: get Discord and join social media communities! That way you can meet like-minded (in that you’re all dealing with coronavirus at the very least), bored people all over the world, and you’ll never have to solo the often backstabbing world of online gaming again!
If you’re feeling lonely but you’ve got pets, maybe it’s time to put down the phone and throw them a bone (metaphorically and potentially literally). Get outside and play fetch with your pup! Attempt to pet your cat as it stares at you menacingly from the cabinet! Take your monitor lizard on a walk! Whatever floats your boat! The fact is, you’d be amazed at how well pets can help with loneliness. If you don’t have an animal companion, maybe now that you’re confined inside for an indefinite amount of time, this might be the perfect opportunity to get one, if you’re still allowed to leave to get the pet that is.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone this, but social media is kind of the place everyone’s at right now trying desperately to connect. Odds are you’re reading this article because social media isn’t cutting it anymore (or you’ve scrolled through all your feed for the day and after 5 straight hours you’re over it). For anyone else, I assume anyone living under a rock or too stubborn to get into it, social media is the way to leading a social life without all that pesky human contact. From staying in touch with distant homies to communicating with new social groups, social media platforms from Facebook to Instagram are the best way to stay in touch with the rest of the world… or just share memes until your brain turns to soup, whatever works. That said, too much can be detrimental towards the goal of helping with loneliness, so if you’ve got pets or people stuck in quarantine with you, that would be a much more psychologically suitable option.
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