Strategies-to-Cope-with-Loneline

The Women Lighthouse Podcast is a community for purpose-driven women. In this episode, the host discusses the issue of loneliness among women. Loneliness is an emotional state that arises from feeling disconnected or lacking social support. Factors such as social isolation, major life changes, and mental or physical health problems can contribute to loneliness. The consequences of loneliness can include physical health issues, anxiety, depression, and impaired decision-making and memory. To cope with loneliness, it is important for women to develop a support network, engage in social activities, challenge negative thoughts, and seek professional help if needed. Loneliness is a common experience, but it doesn't have to be permanent. Women should be proactive and intentional in managing their feelings of loneliness. Hello everyone! You are welcome to the Women Lighthouse Podcast. This is a community for purpose driven women who desire to live their dreams and aspirations. Our mission is to inspire you to live your dreams one day at a time while serving as a beacon of hope and guidance. We will be addressing various issues related to womanhood. Join me as we explore our journey of life together. I am your host, Wime Hamilton. Hello ladies! You are welcome to another episode of the Women Lighthouse Podcast. Today we will be rounding up our series on emotional intelligence and managing our emotions as women. So I will be sharing with you how to manage feelings of loneliness as a woman. While loneliness is a common feeling that many experience, it often goes unnoticed when it comes to women who are faced with unique challenges due to social isolation. In today's episode, I will be diving deep into this topic of loneliness amongst women and I will be sharing some of the things that could cause women to be lonely and the effects of loneliness and how to cope with the feeling of loneliness. So if you are a woman who feels lonely sometimes or you are someone who wants to learn more about this issue, stick around and join in our conversation today. You are welcome back. So let's get right into our conversation. I will start by defining what loneliness is. Loneliness is an emotional state which we experience when we feel disconnected, isolated or lacking social support. We need to understand that loneliness isn't necessarily the same thing as being alone. You can actually be in the midst of people but still feel lonely. When you don't feel connected with the people around you or there is some form of isolation emotionally and you lack social support from those around you, then you can say you are lonely. As women, there are so many things that can give rise to the feeling of loneliness and it's a significant problem for us and some of these causes include social isolation. Women, we go through different seasons of our lives and for instance, if you are a postpartum mother, a mother who just finished giving birth to a baby, most times, especially if you are a working mother, you may be required to have some period of maternity leave where you are home alone with your baby. That period usually is a challenging season and that can give rise to feeling of loneliness. Even though you may have people around you, sometimes that social isolation with your usual peers could give rise to loneliness. So when you are amongst a social gathering that is not necessarily what you've been exposed to over time, that can give rise to loneliness. Let me briefly share an experience I've had with feeling lonely. I've had several experiences but this stands out for me. I know in previous episodes, I've talked about how at a season of my life, I wasn't together with my husband because of my work. We were not in the same location and at that season, I had a child. So basically, I was not in my comfort zone. I was in a new environment with a child under one year old. The support system I would usually have wasn't at my disposal. So that season was a season of deep loneliness for me. So some other things that could give rise to loneliness as women is when we lack social support. Also, when you're living alone, either as a single woman or even as a married woman whose partner is not around, or if you're going through a divorce and you've been used to living with someone but now you're living alone, whatever dynamics it is, when you're living alone, it can give rise to loneliness. Also, when you experience major life changes, like I explained earlier for postpartum mothers, or if you're going through grief, you're going through a divorce, or you're changing a location from where you used to be before and you're in a new environment, either as a result of work or relocation, these different life changes can also give rise to feeling of loneliness. Also, women who go through mental health issues or even physical health problems that cause them to be socially isolated can give rise to loneliness. And some cultural and societal factors, like in some cultures, like where I come from in Nigeria, there are some men that believe their wives shouldn't work. They're earning enough, so once they'll prefer the wife to stay home and take care of the children. So for instance, for a stay-at-home mom, either by volition or as a result of cultural or societal factors, a stay-at-home mom also, who most times may not be associating with her social circle, can also be a predisposing factor to feeling of loneliness. Why is this important? We are social beings, and if the issue of loneliness isn't given much attention, it can give rise to various effects. Loneliness can give rise to a lot of physical problems to begin with. You could have some health challenges, feeling ricks of heart diseases, because either you're worried or you're sad. Because of that, it can give rise to high blood pressure, if you're thinking a whole lot, or chronic pain and all that. Or feeling of anxiety or depression, if you don't pay attention to it. When it becomes chronic, it can give rise to feelings of anxiety or depression. And it can even affect your decision-making and your memory. Because loneliness is not a high emotion, it's a low emotion. And if you stay in that low emotion for a long period without handling it in the right way, it can give rise to a lot of decision-making alterations or mental health issues. So, the main reason why I'm bringing awareness to this issue of loneliness is because, like I always say, there is a need to become a better version of yourself. It is okay to feel lonely, but not for a long period of time. So how can we, as women, cope with managing feelings of loneliness? First, we must understand the importance of having a support network, a support system. We are social beings. For those who are Christians, if you remember, one of the first things that God created, after he created every other thing on earth, was a partner for man. Because he said it is no good for man to be alone. Man is a social being. Human beings, we are social beings. Therefore, it's important to develop a support network, either in the form of friends or family members, or joining a social group, either virtually or physically, connecting with people in the form of a community, or even through volunteering. But have a social network, even if your work doesn't take you out on a daily basis. But there should be other things, there should be a system operational in your life that would cause you to build a social network around yourself. Secondly, it is important to engage in social activities. I remember when I was going through a season of loneliness, taking my son out and bonding with other mothers was a means of also dealing and coping with that season of loneliness. Yes, I did have my partner with me, I did have my family with me, I was in a new environment, but I had to look for a way to make it work. Organizing play dates with other children and other mothers, that was a way of experiencing life and that season of life with the people that were going through similar things I was going through, which was motherhood at that stage. So it's important to learn to engage in social activities, attend events, join, based on your interests, you could join a sports team, or a swimming club, or a book club, or whatever it is, whatever your interest is, ensure that you engage in social activities. Meet new people, develop a new hobby, have a social circle around yourself. Thirdly, it's important to recognize and challenge negative thoughts, because you will definitely experience them. You will definitely experience negative thoughts. When you experience those social isolations, there are times you'll be frustrated, there are times you may have to cry, you may have to vent, and you will experience all those negative emotions and thoughts. But one thing you need to understand is whatever may be the cause of your loneliness, it's going to be for a season if you handle it well. If it's something you have some level of control over, you can begin to look for ways on how to address that cause of loneliness, so that the season of loneliness can be shortened. But if it's something you don't have much control over, for instance, grief, if you're grieving a loved one or a friend, you don't have control over the fact that you would not see that person again. That's a fact. So it's how to deal with it that you now have to navigate through. And that is by challenging those negative thoughts with positive and realistic ones. Think of the memories you have built over time, in time past, and focus on those positive memories rather than on the current negative feeling of loneliness. And also look for a way to channel your energy into something positive and something productive so that you don't have to stay in that feeling of loneliness for so long. Also, and lastly, seek professional help. When loneliness becomes chronic, becomes prolonged, and when you see that you've tried doing certain things on your own and still, you still feel lonely and you're not getting any better, that's the time to seek professional help. You could look for a therapist or a counselor or a close, trusted friend that can be accountable and that you can go through that process together. The importance of this is that they will be able to guide you through how to work on your feelings of loneliness and develop strategies on how you can manage it. We need to understand that loneliness is something that at some point we will all experience, but it's not a feeling you have to go through alone. It's not a feeling you have to go through alone. So feeling lonely as a woman is a common experience, but it doesn't have to be a permanent one. Therefore, be proactive and intentional about how you intend to manage your feeling of loneliness. Learn to build meaningful connections with people. Don't live in isolation. It's important to remember that we don't have to go through the struggle of life alone, but we can build memories and build friendships and connections with people who can go through life with us together. And remember that with time, effort and willingness to seek out connections, women can overcome their feelings of loneliness and cultivate a more fulfilling life. Thank you for joining me on this series on managing our emotions as women. Emotions is a part of life, and I believe that through this series of highlighting certain emotions and how to navigate them, we can learn to be emotionally intelligent and better manage our emotions for better productivity. Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Women Lighthouse Podcast. I hope you were inspired to keep taking steps towards living out your dreams. If you enjoyed this episode, we encourage you to share it with other women and leave us a review on our social media platform, which is in the description box. Also, feel free to subscribe to our channel to get notified of new episodes. Till I come your way on our next episode, keep living, keep dreaming. Bye for now. Transcribed by https://otter.ai