There might be various reasons why you are alone during the Christmas season. It can be for the loss of a loved one, a relationship that ended, living abroad, and even suffering from social anxiety disorder which makes it hard to have close relationships or friends.
First, you need to take care of your mental state and check if this is plaguing you with the negative thoughts. Remember that you have more power over your thoughts!
The best way to cope with loneliness during the festive season is to go out, do something for yourself or even for others, try to be productive.
The following are some tips which you can apply to cope with loneliness during the Christmas period: –
- Go out for a walk, attend a church service or an event held by an organisation.
- Accept an invitation. Sometimes this happens if you turned down invitations and it is common with people who suffer from social anxiety disorder. Hence, accept someone’s invitation
- Volunteer: volunteering is another way of connecting with others, with the community and can be a way of gaining appreciation of the good things in life. You can choose to volunteer at a children’s home, at hospital, at an elderly home or even at an animal’s shelter. This gesture can bring joy to others’ life or to the many animals who are abandoned in shelters. Furthermore, this can even boost your self-esteem and makes you feel good.
- You can also choose to visit a friend who is in hospital or who can’t leave their house. If someone is bound at home, for a reason or another, maybe you can consider doing the grocery for them or even cook something for them as an act of kindness.
- Host a Christmas lunch/dinner. Consider hosting lunch/dinner yourself and invite friends, relatives, or neighbours whom you know that they have no one to spend Christmas with and that they will be on their own as well. If you feel anxious to reach out, maybe others feel lonely and feel anxious or nervous to reach out as well.
- Celebrate online. Even if you were not invited to a party or you don’t feel like hosting a Christmas lunch, but you can still connect virtually maybe with friends or relatives who can’t leave their house now or are abroad. Furthermore, this can be a bonus as you can stay safe and keep vulnerable ones safe too.
- Solitude: if you can’t avoid being alone during this festive season, plan to treat yourself to your favourite meal or even to watch that movie that you liked so much.
Christmas does not bring joy to everyone. To some people, it may bring feelings of sadness or loneliness. If you still feel this way and you cannot pull yourself out of it, there are people out there who would love to hear from you.
If you think that you can benefit from professional support on this issue you can reach out here.
Rachel Osmond is a Family Therapist with Willingness who works with individuals, couples, and families. She also has experience with children and adolescents.
Reference:
Cuncic, A. (2021). How to cope when you are alone on Christmas. Very Well Mind. Retrieved on 26th October 2021 from https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-cope-when-you-are-alone-at-christmas-3024301