How to Not Feel Lonely 25 Ways to Chase the Lonely Blues Away

Feeling alone is truly horrible because you feel the absence of relationship and comradeship. If you want to know how to not feel lonely, try these tips.

Is there anything worse than feeling lonely? Unfortunately, many people suffer from loneliness, even those who appear on the surface to have plenty of friends and family around them. If you experience it, learning how to not feel lonely means a little bit of work on your part, but with good consequences.

How to not feel lonely

Loneliness takes many forms. For many, it comes from a place within where they don't feel understood or relatable to other people. Of course, there is physical loneliness too, and feeling as though you have no friends or people to hang out with can be terribly isolating. It leads to feelings of sadness and depression.

In the worst cases, loneliness really takes hold of people and causes them to act irrationally or withdraw entirely from the world. However, there is no need to let it get so drastic. By following these tips, many people find they slowly discover ways to meet new people, make new friends, and generally feel more positive, confident, and happy in the world!

So, how to not feel lonely? Well, here are 26 tips to help that feeling stop.

#1 Go out more. You can't make new friends and meet new people by sitting holed up in your house alone. By forcing yourself to go out to social events, you increase your chances of meeting likeminded people who you get on with. Even if the idea of it seems scary and nerve-wracking, the more you put yourself in these situations, the more you will get used to them and the easier they become.

You must start somewhere. Just by showing up, you take the first steps in the right direction to alleviate your loneliness.

#2 Say yes to things. Be a yes person instead of a no person. When you get invited out to places or just when an opportunity comes your way, don't be afraid to say yes. Just go for it and see where the adventure takes you. You never know where it could lead.

#3 Enjoy your own company. Feeling lonely isn't necessarily about being with other people. You should be able to have a good time by yourself and learning to enjoy and value your own company is definitely part of that. Remember to be your own best friend so instead of being down on yourself learn how to respect and look after yourself instead.

#4 Take up a class. Learning something new helps distract you from your loneliness and can also be a great opportunity to meet new people.

#5 Get a new hobby. A new hobby leads to meeting likeminded people. Choose something you love such as painting or a new sport and throw yourself into it. Find communities of people who enjoy the same things you do and reach out to them. You could find you have a whole new group of friends just waiting for you to get in touch!

#6 Smile more. Just the act of smiling makes us feel happier within ourselves. It also helps you seem friendlier. People are more likely to approach you.

#7 Practice striking up conversation. Even if you are really shy, learn how to conduct a conversation. Practice makes perfect, so try to strike up a conversation with someone, even your local barista or shopkeeper. Keep practicing. With each nice conversation you have, your confidence grows.

#8 Go speed dating. If you really want to throw yourself in the deep end, go speed dating. This helps you practice talking to lots of people. You may meet someone you really get on with too.

#9 Watch an uplifting movie. Sometimes, if you want to know how to not feel lonely, you just need to forget about being lonely. Take yourself out to an inspiring, positive movie. You'll probably find yourself in a much better frame of mind.

#10 Read a good book. Same goes for reading-find a book to immerse yourself in and get lost in another world for a while!

#11 Get a new job. A new job can be just the thing you need to start fresh. You have a whole new set of people you see every day who could become great friends.

#12 Volunteer. Volunteering is a great way to feel better about yourself, improve your sense of self-worth, and meet new people. It also puts things in perspective if you feel a little sorry for yourself!

#13 Join groups. Joining various groups such as running groups or writing groups helps you meet new sets of people and expand your interests.

#14 Get a pet. You might just crave some company if you live alone. And, providing you have the time and resources to care for it, if may be that a little furry friend is the perfect company!

#15 Figure out why you feel lonely. It is important to get to the root cause of your loneliness. If something deeper is going on, try to tackle it. You end up feeling so much better.

#16 Make a positive playlist. Music really changes a mood and takes you from feeling lonely and isolated to positive and inspired. Make a playlist of all your favorite uplifting songs and put it on whenever you feel sad.

#17 Change your attitude. Sometimes we get ourselves into a bit of a funk in life. It seems as though the whole world is against us. If you feel like that you need to change your attitude, there are lots of great people out there and brilliant experiences to be had. So be more positive and know that you turn things around.

#18 Exercise. Exercise releases endorphins and helps us clear out heads. Plus, it can be a great way to meet new people.

#19 Keep busy. Distracting yourself from your loneliness helps get you through it, so make sure you keep busy.

#20 Start a journal. Writing down how you feel is excellent catharsis. Why not start a journal? You might find patterns to your loneliness which helps you get through it as well.

#21 Travel. Leaving everything behind and going somewhere with new sights, sounds, colors, and cultures to explore helps turn your life around. So, if you feel lonely, why not book a trip, and go on an adventure? Your whole perspective on life may well change.

#22 Don't blame yourself. Remember it's not your fault. Blaming yourself for your loneliness only make things harder. Instead, try to shake off negative feelings of self-loathing or self-doubt and know that you can turn things around if you want to.

#23 Get enough sleep. Being overly tired makes things seem so much worse. Make sure you get your 40 winks!

#24 Pamper yourself. Treating yourself helps you relax and teach you that you can be your own best friend. Taking care of yourself should start from within.

#25 Be honest with yourself. Be completely honest about why you feel lonely and how you got there. It will help you fix the problem so much faster.

These 25 tips help you to get to the root cause of your loneliness and find a way to connect with more people, take care of yourself, and stop feeling isolated.

No one deserves to be lonely. By making a little more effort and battling those demons in your head you can learn how to not feel lonely. And lead a happier, more fulfilling, and interesting life while you are at it!