5 Tips to Help You Ease Loneliness During the Holidays

Many people struggle with feeling loneliness, and especially around the holidays.

It's a time where the focus lands on enjoying happy times with family and friends. But so many people struggle through the holiday season, for one reason or another. 

I get it.

Many people may not be able to afford gifts or traveling this year, or weather has gotten in the way of you being able to be with your loved ones. Maybe it's the anniversary of losing someone in your life - or you lost someone earlier this year, or have some bad blood, or went through a break up. 

While I do understand that feeling isolated from loved ones can be tough, there are also things you can do to feel less lonely. It may require a mindset shift and some effort on your part, but it could be well worth it.

In this article, I'm going to give you some tips on how you can deal with loneliness during the holidays.

5 Tips to Help You Ease Your Feelings of Loneliness During the Holidays

1. Commit to Consistent Self-Care.

It's easy to let self-care habits go out the window when you're dealing with emotional pain.

Some people isolate and really get stuck in the lonely feelings. They might forget to eat, they beat themselves up, some people may drink to try to cope with the feelings, and more.

These behaviors only make matters worse. Do your best this holiday season to give yourself the gift of consistent self-care.

This means you nurture yourself because you are worthy of love and care.

Make a list of some things you can do to practice taking good care of yourself.

• Take a hot, nurturing bath.
• Enjoy a good book.
• Maybe you can start a new hobby.
• Try some new recipes.
• Listen to or watch something every day that feeds your soul.
• Even if it's 5 minutes a day, tend to your physical body by engaging in exercise, deep breathing, or yoga.

Make the commitment to be good to yourself this holiday season even if you are feeling lonely. My guess is that if you invest in yourself, you will feel less lonely. You will also feel more loved.

2. Connect With Others With Video Calls.

With today's technology, you can easily connect with others using the internet.

You can video conference people using applications like Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype. Chances are there are plenty of other lonely people out there, perhaps even in your family. Make the effort to connect with them on video so that all of you will feel less lonely.

One thing my sister and I do around the holidays is video chat while we make Christmas cookies alone in our kitchen. She lives in Pennsylvania and I live in Louisiana, but we don't let that stop us from enjoying the tradition of making Christmas cookies together.

We just set the mobile phone up on a windowsill, put some Christmas music on, and chat while we're making our cookies.

While it might not be the same as being together in person, it certainly helps us feel closer and definitely minimizes feelings of loneliness around the holidays.

Make a list of those that you are going to connect with either with a telephone or video call this holiday season.

Then, simply follow through with connecting with them.

3. Reach Out for Support.

If you have experienced a loss of a loved one in your life that's causing you to feel extremely lonely this time of year, it could be so helpful for you to reach out for some professional support.

Grieving the loss of a loved one can be incredibly challenging around the holiday season. Give yourself permission to accept extra support at this time. While you may still feel loneliness and grief, knowing that you have that solid support can help minimize those painful feelings.

4. Plan a Virtual Holiday Celebration.

Send an email or message to your loved ones and ask them to join you with a virtual holiday celebration.

Maybe you can all set up your video on your phones when it's time to sit down and eat your holiday dinner. It might feel a little bit awkward, but it's a great way to connect with your family, especially when you just can't travel to see them in person this holiday season.

All it takes is a little bit of work at getting everybody lined up timewise.

5. Volunteer.

There may be some volunteer opportunities in your community where you can give of your time to help others in need.

Facebook events is a great way to look for events or activities going on in your local area. Look for those events that may need some help. Or check out the Next Door app and offer volunteer services to those in your neighborhood that may need some assistance.

Who knows, there may be someone in your neighborhood that’s sitting alone for the holidays and can't even get out to get their own groceries. 

Maybe you could help them out.

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Everyone Feels Loneliness at Times

Feeling lonely can certainly be tough. We all feel lonely sometimes.

But we don't have to get stuck in the loneliness or let it completely ruin the holiday season. It's OK to feel a bit of loneliness, and it's also OK to do what you can do to minimize it.

I hope these tips have helped you out and I hope that you have a beautiful, safe, and joyous holiday season.

Photo by Ono Kosuki