Do you have a network of friends and family?
Find out if this is through phone, social media, or in person and if they are happy with the amount of social contact they have. The person may be someone who is content with a few close friends, or they may need a large group of varied acquaintances to feel satisfied.
Do you have a close family friend or family member you could turn to for support if you needed it?
Start a conversation about loneliness. Allow the person to tell their story, to review their loneliness and what is happening now. Be empathetic and help the person to understand their own circumstances and if they can think of solutions.
What are your hobbies or interests?
State that the simplest way to ease feelings of loneliness can be to try to meet more, or different, people.
Can they think of anything they are interested in, a class or a group they have heard of, that could help connect them with new people?
How often would you say you do your hobbies or social activities?
How do you feel about how you spend your time?
Would you say that your relationships are as you would want them to be?
Other useful regional services:
Self Care
Look after the basics first; eat regular meals, drink plenty of water, have regular showers and try to get enough sleep.
Try to set an alarm if you know you oversleep, and force yourself to get up and do something - whether it’s exercise, eating or academia, getting out of bed will help you avoid falling into a slump. Try to get changed to signal to yourself that it’s no longer sleep time (even if it’s just into different pjs - it’s the action itself that helps). It could also be helpful to go for a walk in the fresh air every day to get you out of the house as well as releasing endorphins.
Give yourself a goal each day. Having something to aim for will give you a purpose, and mini goals are particularly great in giving yourself a confidence boost.
Keeping active even in small amounts will do wonders for your emotional wellbeing
Volunteering
Volunteering is a good way of meeting people. Helping others can also really help improve mental health.
Loneliness in younger people
Loneliness can be defined as the state of distress or discomfort that results when we perceive a gap between our desires for social connection and actual experiences of it.
Early in the pandemic, when young people were asked in March 2020 what their top concerns were about coping over the next few months, their top concern was isolation and lonelines.
As the first lockdown was progressing in April/May 2020, 35% of young people said they feel lonely often or most of the time despite spending three hours on social media.
In late November 2020, according to a survey of UK adults which took place nine months into COVID-19 restrictions, almost half of 18- to 24-year olds reported being lonely during lockdown.
In a YouGov poll responded to around the same time, 69% of adolescents aged 13-19 said they felt alone “often” or “sometimes” in the last fortnight and 59% feel they have no one to talk to “often” or “sometimes”.
These findings suggest that current restrictions are having a heavy toll on children and young people. As the amount of time living under restrictions increases, children and young people are reporting feeling lonely in higher numbers.
Mind
Mind has information on loneliness including useful contacts and ideas on how to find and join groups.
The Silver Line
The Silver Line is a free confidential helpline providing information, friendship and advice to older people - call 0800 470 8090.
Age UK
Age UK offer support and information for older people including a befriending service where a volunteer visits once a week at home or over the telephone.
Volunteering
Helping others can improve mental health and help combat loneliness. The NCVO helps people find volunteering opportunities locally.
NHS Advice
The NHS website has advice on loneliness including volunteering, continuing education and how to engage with social media and computers.
Campaign to end loneliness
Feeling lonely is a normal human emotion and is simply a sign of wanting contact with people. Here's some advice and information that may help.
Every Mind Matters - Loneliness
Life someone out of loneliness. Find out some simple things you can do if you know someone who is lonely.
Marmalade Trust
Marmalade Trust is the UK’s leading loneliness charity for all ages and the only charity in the world specifically dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness. We are a small charity with a big mission – and the momentum is growing.
Independent Age
Whatever happens as we get older, we all want to remain independent and live life on our own terms. That’s why, as well as offering regular friendly contact and a strong campaigning voice, Independent Age can provide you and your family with clear, free and impartial advice on the issues that matter: care and support, money and benefits, health and mobility.