Loneliness tears at the heart; it talks to you in sad tones and communicates some of the following: I am battling pulmonary hypertension alone most of the time. My family and friends don’t understand what it is like for me. I don’t feel like socializing when I feel depressed, down and frustrated with my illness. It is hard for others to hear the depths of despair I feel at times. What’s the point of trying to communicate when others just give me advice. It’s clear they don’t understand my illness. Loneliness is persuasive, it wants to get its way: it wants you to isolate so that it may intensify. Loneliness knows that it can get so intense that you may feel your very soul has been devoured by it. The lonelier you feel the more depression can take a hold. In Essence, loneliness gives us a choice: we can give in to it and listen to its voice, isolate more, talk less, have our world shrink and then shrink some more, and keep reminding ourselves how utterly alone we are or we can gradually resist its wily ways. It’s not easy to resist but we can start with small steps and go from there Small steps may include some of the following: I will connect with the PH community and let them know how lonely I feel at times. I will try and sit in public places (i.e. the library or coffee bar) just to feel people around me. I will write a list of the people I have in my life and remind myself of any kind acts they have done for me when I am suffering. I will think of a small thing I can do for someone else as a way of reducing my lonely feeling. I will do some journal writing about how I feel so I release the feelings and don’t stay focused on them. Loneliness is well aware that the more action you take, in spite of the lonely feeling, the more likely it is that you will drain its intensity. Challenging feelings like loneliness are a bit like big waves arriving at the shoreline. When they arrive at the edge of our soul they crash and often feel overwhelming. However, if we continue our self-care program and take actions that marshal our inner resources, they start to recede little by little until finally they have gone for a while. Feelings like loneliness are in many ways guideposts letting us know that we have needs that are not being met, and that it is wise to address them at an early stage before they build into waves of tsunami proportions.
Loneliness tears at the heart; it talks to you in sad tones and communicates some of the following: I am battling pulmonary hypertension alone most of the time. My family and friends don’t understand what it is like for me. I don’t feel like socializing when I feel depressed, down and frustrated with my illness. It is hard for others to hear the depths of despair I feel at times. What’s the point of trying to communicate when others just give me advice. It’s clear they don’t understand my illness. Loneliness is persuasive, it wants to get its way: it wants you to isolate so that it may intensify. Loneliness knows that it can get so intense that you may feel your very soul has been devoured by it. The lonelier you feel the more depression can take a hold. In Essence, loneliness gives us a choice: we can give in to it and listen to its voice, isolate more, talk less, have our world shrink and then shrink some more, and keep reminding ourselves how utterly alone we are or we can gradually resist its wily ways. It’s not easy to resist but we can start with small steps and go from there Small steps may include some of the following: I will connect with the PH community and let them know how lonely I feel at times. I will try and sit in public places (i.e. the library or coffee bar) just to feel people around me. I will write a list of the people I have in my life and remind myself of any kind acts they have done for me when I am suffering. I will think of a small thing I can do for someone else as a way of reducing my lonely feeling. I will do some journal writing about how I feel so I release the feelings and don’t stay focused on them. Loneliness is well aware that the more action you take, in spite of the lonely feeling, the more likely it is that you will drain its intensity. Challenging feelings like loneliness are a bit like big waves arriving at the shoreline. When they arrive at the edge of our soul they crash and often feel overwhelming. However, if we continue our self-care program and take actions that marshal our inner resources, they start to recede little by little until finally they have gone for a while. Feelings like loneliness are in many ways guideposts letting us know that we have needs that are not being met, and that it is wise to address them at an early stage before they build into waves of tsunami proportions.