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What is LONELINESS? It is not about being on your own.

What is LONELINESS? It is not about being on your own.
Many people enjoy being on their own and would choose this for themselves for at lest part of the time. They enjoy having their own space. They do not feel the need to have other people around all of the time to validate them or make them feel more comfortable.
If someone experiences feelings of LONELINESS; it is usually not influenced solely by where they are or whether other people are around. It is possible to be in a room full of people and still feel very much ALONE. You can be part of a social gathering and feel LONELY as you are on the periphery and not fully involved with what is going on.

This suggests that LONELINESS is a state of mind. It is tied up with how you feel about yourself. When we have a low self esteem, we have a choice about whether to change this or not. The prospect of change can be daunting. The challenge of embracing this is however very worthwhile, with rewards not only in terms of how you feel bout yourself but also in the quality of your life.
The first task in changing our self esteem is to alter the way in which we view ourselves.


1.Instead of bombarding ourselves with an onslaught of negative comments, try to focus on the more positive aspects about yourself. This could include, PHYSICAL, PRACTICAL, PERSONAL, EMOTIONAL, ATTRIBUTES or things you are good at, PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS..

2. Try asking members of your family, colleagues, friends, how they would describe you. This may reveal a number of POSITIVE statements about you which are surprising and / or uplifting. (Note of caution, choose wisely!)

3. Write down POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS about yourself

4 .Pay more attention to your thoughts and feelings. When you are aware of these being critical, try challenging them or using THOUGHT STOPPING TECHNIQUES

5. Practise seeing yourself in particular situations when you feel CONFIDENT and good about who you are and the circumstances you are in. you are feeling comfortable. Feedback from others is POSITIVE. People are paying attention to you. You are maintaining good eye contact .Feed as much information into this exercise as possible. Pay attention to your body language and how you converse. Make sure you CHOOSE clothes to make the most of your physical attributes and feel CONFIDENT in them. Do you feel better wearing make up and perfume? Remember how it feels to have a stronger sense of SELF WORTH, to get POSITIVE FEEDBACK from others and from your own reaction.

6. You can proceed to use the lessons learnt from this exercise to go into the situation for real. You can enter it from a more CONFIDENT and less threatened stance.

7. Try not to leave a situation because of feelings of discomfort or anxiety.

This will only increase your fear of a situation at a higher level and give yourself negative feedback. This can be difficult to do.
It may be helpful to remember that if you suffer from any symptoms of anxiety these are only an exaggerated form of how we all feel from time to time.
They cause discomfort but are not life threatening. Placed in a difficult situation, your symptoms any increase but it will reach a peak and come down again. Try not to be afraid of this feeling and run away from the situation. If you need to, use BREATHING exercises to take control of the situation. If you manage your situation effectively in this way, you will get POSITIVE feedback from the experience resulting in you being less fearful in the future.

Alternatively, PLAN ahead;

Think of what would make you feel more comfortable by REHEARSING the situation in your head. This may alert you to any possible difficulties. It is then your task to generate ways of overcoming these difficulties.
It can be useful to decide beforehand that you are only going to stay somewhere for an hour. Giving yourself a time limit may make it easier for you to relax and stay in a situation .Even if you are enjoying yourself, it still makes sense to leave at the time you promised yourself and when things are going well. This will ensure you achieve POSITIVE feedback.

8. Remember how you felt when you last heard a friend say something POSITIVE about you or when they did something which made you feel appreciated and liked.
Spend less time concentrating on negative thoughts about you. Instead be more focussed on others.
Do or say things to others which will make them feel good. You will in turn get POSITIVE feedback from this boosting your SELF ESTEEM.
Try bringing in your neighbours wheelie bin, buying someone flowers, pay someone a compliment, invite someone to lunch, simply say thank you more often!

9. Put more FUN into your life.eg.
Share a joke .Try recalling something which has made you LAUGH heartily.
Watch a good comedy. Get out some old photographs. It is even better if you can share the experience with a friend. Share the LAUGHTER!

10. Get involved in some type of activity which will raise your CONFIDENCE.
People often resist the suggestion to attend a confidence building class. There is a place for them but it is perhaps not the best or the healthiest option, to put people together with others who have the same difficulty. Instead, try one of the following:


Join a drama, music, art, singing or art class, take up a contact sport, challenge yourself by commencing, rock climbing, canoeing, diving, golf etc.

You will benefit from having set yourself a GOAL or CHALLENGE and by the opportunity to express yourself in a different way.
You will definitely have something new and interesting to talk about.


If you have a family, you may choose an ACTIVITY which you can do together such as cycling .
Dance has the added benefit of being good FUN and brings you into contact with other people. SKIPPING can help increase bone density so is great for all of us over 40.Beware you are more likely to do this on your own. You could however go for a really nice walk somewhere and have your ropes in your pocket.

If you find it difficult to fit EXERCISE into your day:
Try WALKING instead of using transport .If you must drive, park a little way from your place of work. If you take a bus, get off a few stops from where you need to. Use stairs not the lift.
If you have a sedentary job, make a point of getting out of your chair regularly and take a WALK in the building. Have a brisk twenty minute WALK at lunch time. Try to get others ROPED in too!

This will offer opportunity to make a new group of friends. You will have a new shared interest and a sense of camaraderie. You may need to trust and be trusted by others.
You will have the opportunity to give and receive POSITIVE feedback and have
FUN!!!

11. Exercise is useful in enhancing SELF ESTEEM and will also benefit you by lowering your state of arousal. This means that more stress will be required for you to be affected by it. Increased muscle tone can help you feel more confident with how you look. Pick an exercise to meet your specific needs.

12 Stop comparing yourself with others. You will only come out of this disfavourably.

13. Stop judging others. More importantly-Stop judging yourself!

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.”


Solcarina
solkarina15.blogspot.com

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Slavica Todorovic Comment by Slavica Todorovic on May 9, 2009 at 12:46pm
You have described your view of loneliness giving some practice advices and that is nice.Everything you said make sense.And again,by according to my experience many of that doesn't work;simply, i need right people around me-at least one, if there is no more than one, to fit me.I feel loneliness in two ways:if i hasn't been engaged in something/usually writing and reading,/now mostly online/and when i miss one person to be in love with.
Linnet Woods Comment by Linnet Woods on May 9, 2009 at 12:44pm
When much younger I was very shy, self-conscious and uncomfortable about myself but once I had discovered that most people love to talk about themselves I found it much easier to socialize - asking people questions about themselves, avoiding asking anything that might be too personal or make them uncomfortable, their opinions, their interests and hobbies, careers and so on, I found it easy to forget about myself and I learned a huge amount about all sorts of things into the bargain! :-)
Zsolt Pasztor Comment by Zsolt Pasztor on May 9, 2009 at 12:43pm
Great post. Loneliness is a chance to meditate and discover your deeper feelings.
Just listen The Loner from Gary Moore and you will find what you need when you are lonely.
Lynne Walls Comment by Lynne Walls on May 9, 2009 at 12:36pm
I know, that for me, loneliness is always a state of mind. Because I possess an introverted nature, I am rarely lonely when I am alone. However, I can feel very lonely and anxious in a room full of strangers. I appreciated point number 7 and intend to use it and grow rather than avoid unpleasant situations.
Kimberly Miller Comment by Kimberly Miller on May 9, 2009 at 12:36pm
I believe that loneliness is a state of mind. If you have mastered being able to love yourself in all aspects, then you are never truly lonely. However, if you have not, then the feelings of loneliness will creep in more frequently and with more intensity, which in turn can just throw your entire world into a tailspin. If you are unable to shake the feeling of loneliness, you then spiral into depression, perhaps turning to drinking or to recreational drugs to try and disburse the feelings and, while it may help briefly, when you return to "normal" again - that feeling is still there.
Frank Nolan Comment by Frank Nolan on May 9, 2009 at 12:32pm
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Loneliness is the absence of Love!
Steve Orris Comment by Steve Orris on May 9, 2009 at 12:30pm
Great stuff. Good points to remember. At times I think my kids have healthier self-esteem than I do. All of life is play to them. See my blog for examples.
Durward Blanks Comment by Durward Blanks on May 9, 2009 at 12:28pm
Lonliness is a state of mind. I've been married 33 yrs. Unfortunately, my wife chooses to dwell on on the negatives in her life. She suffers from chronic pain and numerous ailments, many that I believe are due to her mental state of mind. Long ago, I chose to continue living and focus on the positive. Many concerts and social events have been attended by me alone. I enjoy life. I've been blessed in many ways. I can't say that at times, the attitude of my wife (and her mother, who lives with us) affect me. It does have an adverse effect on our life and income. Their cup is never more than half full. Mine is always full, and even when I run low, there are marshmallows in the bottom!
To combat the environment I live in, I read, listen to music, watch my favorite old shows (westerns) and pray. Not in that particular order mind you, Prayer is a constant as much as possible.
I sincerely believe that we manifest our own destiny. As a man thinketh, he is.
Life is GREAT, God continues to bless us.
Bill A. Medley Comment by Bill A. Medley on May 9, 2009 at 12:26pm
Single for 20+ years now and liking it. I tell my divorce seminar attendees that the main key for most of the loneliness is learning to like (just like not necessarily love) yourself. sounds easy but its not. Loneliness is real and its an OK feeling we need not deny that. On learning to like ones self I suggest we check to see if we can spend time with ourselves in our spaces without noise. No radio, no TV! Just silence. If you can do this for a time you like yourself. If not keep working on it. You can do it!!! As mentioned find a group you like for social interaction to help your loneliness feelings. If they persist find a individual to spend time with on your intelligence level. Hang in there it gets easier!
charles clarke Comment by charles clarke on May 9, 2009 at 12:15pm
BUT I THINK ITS A AWESOME BLOG....SO MUCH I CAN IDENTIFY WITH......NICE READ....

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