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Author Topic: Suffering from loneliness  (Read 153501 times)

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Re: Suffering from loneliness
« Reply #115 on: January 22, 2024, 10:11:46 AM »
With all the weirdos around, you should be thanking God that you don't have to deal with them.  Read a good book, listen to beautiful music, thank God that you're healthy, exercise either outside or indoors, write to a friend or relative or better yet - call them. Go to a concert, a movie, go to a park & people watch.  You might then be grateful you don't have to deal with all the nit-wits. Do volunteer work.  Guaranteed if you do these things you will soon be glad to have alone time & not complain.  It's your own fault if you feel lonely with so many things to do - & needs someone to do them.

Please post again next month after doing some of these things. I'd like to know what - if anything - helped.  I'm serious.  :incense:
This is what's really hard for me. Due to my autism (high functioning) it's really hard to come up with things to do that I don't find inherently interesting on their own, especially things I can do by myself. Board gaming is a huge interest, hobby and passion of mine, for example, but it's not something I can go do by myself. I do read books and listen to music at my house as well as play some video games. I'm not a huge fan of concerts. My home speaker system can reproduce sound much better than the speaker system at a hall or theater so music sounds better at home and since I'm not going to meet the performers anyway, paying to go listen to music that will sound inferior doesn't seem like a good idea. I do like movies and go to them occasionally, however, in recent years, most movies are trash and I wouldn't want to pay to see them as a matter of principle. 

When the weather is nicer, I do go to parks and places to walk my dogs, but in the winter, it's generally too cold and dark too early to do this. Not super interested in people watching, but I do like to get out. I do go out to dinner on occasion as well. The problem for me is that in order to make friends, I need to be able to repeatedly interact with them to get to know them before anything else. It's hard to explain, but I pretty much need to be able to learn about them, learn what common interests we have in order to learn if they're someone I want to engage with further. 

Offline TheRealMcCoy

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Re: Suffering from loneliness
« Reply #116 on: January 22, 2024, 10:37:10 AM »
This is what's really hard for me. Due to my autism (high functioning) it's really hard to come up with things to do that I don't find inherently interesting on their own, especially things I can do by myself.
Were you diagnosed?


Re: Suffering from loneliness
« Reply #117 on: January 22, 2024, 10:41:57 AM »
When the weather is nicer, I do go to parks and places to walk my dogs, but in the winter, it's generally too cold and dark too early to do this. Not super interested in people watching, but I do like to get out. I do go out to dinner on occasion as well. The problem for me is that in order to make friends, I need to be able to repeatedly interact with them to get to know them before anything else. It's hard to explain, but I pretty much need to be able to learn about them, learn what common interests we have in order to learn if they're someone I want to engage with further.

We're a month past the equinox already and gaining minutes of brightness steadily. Scandinavian expression: There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Lots of recreational websites explain how to dress to stay both warm and comfortable. Unless it's seriously bad (as in thunder-blizzard), try to bundle up and get outside daily, ideally between noon and 2 PM, for longer than it takes just to walk the dogs. Throw snowballs at a tree or a boulder or a solid brick wall. Try identifying deciduous trees only by their bark, learn about how cloud formations predict the weather, observe what the squirrels and birds and other critters are doing at those times when you're out quietly on your own.

As for people, make friends with the Saints. There are a lot of traditional websites that detail their histories, some of these sites follow the daily liturgical calendar. Saints have had experiences that make the most valiant of us seem like wimps; we have a lot to learn and admire in them.

All of this is a matter of deciding that you want to take these simple steps every day. Ask Our Lord for encouragement and guidance. Look to Him and He will send you what you need.

Re: Suffering from loneliness
« Reply #118 on: January 22, 2024, 10:59:59 AM »
This is just getting depressingly bad. I wish I could even think of something interesting to go do by myself.
Dear Bataar,
Have you ever read any of the Desert Fathers? I really like the book: St. Antony of the Desert, by St. Athanasius.  His life is a good example of living a solitary life for God.

Re: Suffering from loneliness
« Reply #119 on: January 22, 2024, 11:18:30 AM »
In the summer, I do a lot of outdoor stuff. It's too cold and gets dark too early in the winter.
Don't allow the seasons to be a deterrent, or maybe someday you can move to a warm climate.  Winter walks can be brisk and refreshing, as well as walks in gentle rain.  As I worked outside with cattle I never took up winter sports (I worked in the snow and cold, I don't need to go play in it), but many find winter activities as fun as summer ones.  There are great clothing, camping, and other gear options for winter.  I live in eastern WA and looked up sunrise and sunset here for December 20 (shortest daylight of the year) and there was still a solid 8 hours + of daylight.