Loneliness is a weird feeling.
Sometimes you feel lonely in a room full of people.
Sometimes you feel lonely in your own room.
Sometimes it’s the memories that haunt.
Sometimes it’s the future that daunts.
Sometimes it’s all of these things.
Sometimes it’s none of these things.
Sometimes it doesn’t makes sense.
Sometimes it totally makes sense.
Most of the time, you’re not comfortable with this feeling (at least I’m not). Feeling lonely sucks. You start to believe there’s something fundamentally wrong with you. You feel insignificant and unworthy of connection. You think you’re flawed. In an attempt to “fix” yourself, you turn to the internet and search:
“What is loneliness”
“Why do I feel lonely”
“How to overcome loneliness”
Some answers resonate with you, while others don’t. Somehow, you navigate through this overwhelming feeling of loneliness until it hits you again, and again, and again, and until one day you realize you’ve transformed into an entirely different person.
Here’s the thing…
I don’t have the answer to how to overcome loneliness. But I have a first-hand experience of dealing with loneliness. I am 27 and for the last 12 years, I have been living by myself. I have lived in small towns and big cities. I have friends online and friends offline. I have goals and hobbies. But somehow I have always carried this feeling of loneliness with me.
I have come to a realization that you cannot fight loneliness. You are stuck with and hence you will have to make peace with it. Perhaps, it’s time you become best friends with yourselves.
We live in a world where we are constantly connected with others but deeply disconnected from ourselves. We have different faces for different people. And yet we do not know our true face — we have become strangers to ourselves. The likes and comments on social media posts provide fleeting moments of validation, but they do little to fill the void within. Loneliness is a void only you can feel.
It’s time you give yourself the attention and care you freely offer to others.
It’s time you validate your feelings and celebrate your uniqueness.
It’s time you show yourself the love and kindness you deserve.
It’s time you indulge in activities that bring you fulfillment.
It’s time you become your own best friend.
And when the times it gets difficult to be your best friend, I hope you have the courage to eat alone, to sleep alone, and not give up on yourself