Coping with Loneliness During Quarantine

Even if you are not going through addiction recovery, sheltering in place and social distancing both take an emotional toll. This reality is especially true if you must develop these coping mechanisms while living alone. Learning how to be okay with being alone includes many challenges, particularly for those in recovery from addiction or mental health disorders. If you are worried about coping with loneliness during quarantine, we discuss some tips for that in this guide.

Understanding the Differences: Living Alone, Loneliness and Complete Solitude

There are distinctions among these three concepts—living alone, experiencing loneliness, and being in complete solitude—that is critical for those in recovery to learn. Yes, there are some overlaps among these concepts, but the differences are notable.

Living Alone

When you live alone, that means you are in a physical space with no one else. It is not uncommon for individuals in a relationship with someone living somewhere else to feel “alone.” That might also be true if someone is living with a roommate with whom they are not friends.

Loneliness

The feeling of loneliness is something that could set in despite if you are living with someone or not. Humans need to have contact with others as a natural part of their being. That means, even if you are comfortable with living alone, you must take proactive steps toward contacting others.

Complete Solitude

When you are experiencing complete solitude, that means you are not in contact with anyone at all. You are genuinely alone with your thoughts without any input from others while in isolation. Solitude means not reading books, watching TV, or communicating with anyone through any means. Those who are living in complete solitude could experience feelings of loneliness as a natural reaction to their circumstances.

Ways to Cope with Loneliness

Talk to Others About Loneliness

When you are coping with loneliness during quarantine, you must talk to others about these feelings. While many do not like feeling vulnerable, one thing to understand is that we are all experiencing these feelings during this pandemic. Everyone is learning how to be away from others and, when you come to grips with that, feeling relief is inevitable. As you talk more about loneliness and how it is impacting your recovery, your support system is going to encourage you to do that more often.

Mental health treatment provided during this time is vital in decreasing symptoms of loneliness that can progress into depression.

Call 1.844.768.1161 now to speak with a professional about feelings of loneliness.

Look for New Hobbies

Coping with loneliness during quarantine also involves actively engaging in your hobbies or picking up new ones. There are also opportunities to explore things, like:

If you love to paint or draw, consider taking a free class to help you further develop those skills
If you love reading, there are hundreds of virtual book clubs
If singing is one of your favorite things to do, participate in groups like Quarantine Karaoke
New cooking classes, some of which are explicitly geared to quarantine cooking

Put Technology to Work

We live in a digital society, and, as such, it is possible to stay in touch with your peers and support systems using technology. When you put technology to work during coronavirus, that means using your smartphone, tablet, computer, and other devices to maintain connections. That could mean playing interactive video games with your friends or video chatting with your sponsor.

Coping with loneliness during quarantine also involves finding support services to help you through recovery. Examples of these services include:

Using telehealth mental health and addiction treatment services to help maintain your recovery journey
Finding digital platforms supporting AA meetings, 12 step therapy programs, and group meetings with your sponsor
Find emotional support through video or message hangouts
Visit SMART Recovery to participate in online forums, meetings, and topic-centric ZOOM sessions