9 Healthy Ways You Can Navigate Loneliness After Divorce

If you’ve been through a divorce or separation and you’re feeling lonely, know that you’re not alone.

Many people go through a period of loneliness after divorce, as the reality is that they’ve experienced a loss. Such a loss, along with various negative emotions, can cause people to isolate and contend with loneliness.

To begin overcoming loneliness, consider the following.

9 Ways to Help Yourself After a Divorce

1. Find A Supportive Network Or Friend

As with any major life transition, going through a divorce gives you a chance to experience new things, including making new friends. 

Now, you don’t have to cut ties with current friends, but you may want to reconfigure your social landscape in a way that adds value to your new life as a single.

Though it may feel challenging to reach out for help, doing so can help you get through this lonely time. Maybe there’s a person you can reach out to for a divorce support or a support group. 

It’s not always easy to tell someone you’re dealing with loneliness, but it can benefit you to do so. Most people understand and are more than willing to lend an ear or spend some time with you. 

There may be a divorce support group in your community that will offer some great support during this transition.

2. Keep In Touch With Your Children

When your children are with their other parent, keeping in touch with them via phone or video calls can help you feel more connected to them and less lonely. 

Being without your children while they are at your ex’s is an adjustment. Having the whole house to yourself can feel quite lonely during the times the children are not with you. Perhaps you can Facetime with the kids each evening to form a routine and feel more connected. 

3. Family Activities

If you’ve got children, being single doesn’t mean you have to stop doing family activities in your community.

Get your children together and take them to family outings. Check your local churches to see what activities are going on. Maybe one of them is having a community picnic or movie night. You can also check Facebook Events or Meetup.com to see if there is a family group or activity that catches your eye.

Getting out as a family will benefit you and your children, and all of you will have the opportunity to meet new people.

4. Volunteer

Volunteer to join certain groups based on your interest area.

Giving your time for a great cause is a great way to reduce feelings of loneliness, as you’ll be around other people and maybe even make a new friend or two.

5. Get counseling

Consider attending a season of counseling to help you get through this transition time. 

Being able to share your feelings openly with a professional can help. They can also help you create a strategy for tackling those feelings of loneliness.

Want to know how to get started with counseling? Read this next: 8 Pros and 5 Cons of Virtual Counseling and How You Can Benefit

6. Be Patient

You may very well be in a state of grieving, so give yourself some time to process and heal.

Taking time to heal your emotions before heading out there onto the social scene is healthy. As much as you want to create that new social life, be patient as you work through negative emotions on your own or with a counselor. Know that reclaiming your social life will come in due time.

7. Invite Friends Over

Perhaps you can regularly have a friend or friends over to your home. 

Whether you cook dinner, have tea, or just sit and visit, engaging with friends can help reduce loneliness. Your friends may not realize that you’re feeling lonely, so they may not reach out. 

You must reach out to them and let them know that you’re in need of some support. Surely, they’ll understand and give you some valuable time.

8. Practice self-care

Feeling lonely can be rough.

If you’re not careful, you can find yourself neglecting self-care, depressed and binge-watching Netflix night after night. While watching a good show can be entertaining, self-care is necessary for optimal emotional and physical health. 

Make it your aim to take care of yourself mind, body, and soul. Get enough rest, eat healthy foods, feed your soul inspirational things, and enjoy some quiet time regularly.

Start your own self-care routine now. Top 5 Simple Ways to Start a Self-Care Routine in Your Life

9. Try New Things

While you’re navigating social life changes, be sure to try new things and explore new ideas. 

What are some things you’ve wanted to do for a while? Maybe there’s that class at the local college you’ve been wanting to sign up for. Or perhaps you’ve wanted to travel to that exotic location. 

You’d be surprised at how your social life opens when you get out to experience new things.

Be Open To New Possibilities

Navigating social life changes amidst divorce may not always be easy, but the process can be enjoyable.

Give yourself a bit of time to grieve the divorce, but then embrace your new life with optimism. As you open to new possibilities and friendships, you’ll feel more empowered to create a social circle that helps you feel supported and loved.

If you find you can’t pull yourself out of this feeling of loneliness, reach out for help from a professional or support group. While feeling lonely sometimes is quite normal, feeling pathological loneliness that causes severe emotional strain ought to be addressed professionally. 

Life after divorce is a transition and you don’t have to do it all alone.

Are you looking for motivation after or during your divorce? Read this next: 6 Helpful Tips on Finding Positivity After Getting Divorced

Photo by Ricardo Esquivel from Pexels