5 Steps to Overcome Loneliness & Social Isolation

In this video Clark explains 5 tips that worked for him to help overcome his loneliness and social isolation. These methods below were helpful for Clark and hopefully some, or all, of them will work for you too.

Take the Initiative: There’s no shame in being the initiator. Be the person to invite your friends to hang out 75% of the time if they aren’t good at reaching out to you first. If you don’t have many friends take the initiative to reach out to your family or anyone else who you can spend some time with.

New Friends Are Good, but Old Friends Are Better: Don’t underestimate the value of old friends and don’t overestimate the value of new friends. The dynamic between old friends that have known each other most their lives is typically stronger than with new friends you’ve only known a couple months or years.

Maximize Small Interactions: Try getting to know local people by name and move past self talk. If you’re seeing the same teller at the nearby gas station, same cashiers at the supermarket, or same people any other place you visit frequently you should try building rapport with them. Maximizing daily interactions will have you feeling fulfilled and can help pull you out of your isolation.

Use Social Media Less: It’s difficult not to compare ourselves to others on social media. Regularly seeing pictures or statuses of people having fun with their friends can make you feel more lonely. Comparing yourself to people who are in relationships if you’re single can also make you feel more lonely. Try minimizing your involvement with social media and it can help reduce your feelings of loneliness.

Find a Meetup Group Related to Your Passion: Exploring local Meetup groups that are of interest to you has helped Clark and might help you too. If you like dancing, playing a particular sport, hiking, creating art, or any other hobby you should join those types of groups. The people in those groups will be easier to socialize with since they share your passion.

Hopefully some of these tips work for you to help reduce your feelings of loneliness and social isolation.