Feeling extremely lonely and depressed. Advise?

I wish I knew. I am so sorry for you. I will be thinking of you and saying prayers 🙏.

Hey @Worsebuthopefull. How are you feeling today?

Thank you for starting this discussion! I am very sorry to hear about your current state, I hope it gets better. Sometimes it can be not easy to find things to be grateful for. However it does need to be big things, it can be simple everyday luxuries like fresh air or clean water. I will tag some members who might want to share their thoughts on this topic! Wishing you all the best!

@capri3 @MichaelWilson1 @Forest92 @SurajRoy  @alex11 @Bgrimes24 @kjblue1952 @Saddogparent @NanGram @Kopite79 @TiffanyR @universe @Ajelli02 @AnissaS @XGraceX @AnnLee @Chhoww @kisslamarre @Doug_RVA @Dr.WhoPeggygmail.com @chais18a

Hello everyone! How are you doing today?

How often (if ever) do you feel incredibly lonely and/or depressed? How do you cope? What advice can you give to someone feeling such a way?

Take care,

Polina from the Carenity team

Usually, if nothing helps I try to sleep more and wait until it passes. Good luck on your journey!

I find consistency in eating better and exercise. Neither of which I find easy to accomplish. However I know if I want to feel better and get out of a rut, I need to make changes.

As mentioned before from JoyDunford, prayer is helpful with some quiet time. Praying for all of you!!

I’m sorry you are not having a good day @Worsebuthopefull!

Being lonely and depressed often makes it next to impossible for me to practice gratitude.

And, there are times when I do not reach out to those who are able to help me, such as very good friends.

So often I devalue myself and don’t want to “bother them.”

As a retired person, most of my time is my own.

Sometimes I find taking a nap helpful. It breaks my cycle of negativity and helps to give me more perspective on things.

Humor is also something I use. I often find humorous clips on YouTube to watch, often watching the same one I have in the past.

Of course, I am doing the “medical things” - medications and therapy.

Prayer and spiritual reading helps me.

Doing things to bring joy to others is also a big help for me.

And, music often helps me.

As a 69-year young person, the following practice, which I have just started, may seem a bit childish, but it helps me. I purchased a very soft stuffed animal to take to bed at night. As I said, it might be childish, but it is helpful for me.

It reminds me that I am not alone - God loves me as do so many wonderful people.

And, it is hard to be too upset when I am cuddling my orange bunny!

These are just some of my helpful things. I hope some of them will be helpful for you.

I can definitely relate and have been in the same boat the last few years. The loneliness is a tough place to be with the depression. And it feels like nobody understands how I feel. I've tried this website to reach out to people and have made some acquaintances that really helped me to talk to. Also med changes and finding what works. If you need someone to talk to please feel free and message me on here. It'll get better.

I am going thru the same thing. And I don't know what to do. I have no friends. I sit in this house never leave it. It is killing me

Hey, really sorry you're feeling like this.

Been there; it's tough. When I hit a similar slump, what helped me was finding a hobby that I genuinely enjoyed. For me, it was painting, but it could be anything that sparks joy for you, even for a brief moment. 

My girlfriend and I were struggling a bit, too, around that time, so we decided to try couples counseling. Sounds weird, but it gave us a better understanding of each other's emotions, and we started enjoying our time together more. That support really helped me feel less alone. So you also can seek professional help, and you will feel better. 

I was in this rut afraid to meet people and my therapist encouraged me to do something, anything and boy am I glad I did I tried kickboxing and I love it. I look forward to it. It releases my frustrations and it’s good exercise