November 28, 2023 Nov 28, 2023 9 min read
Overcome the Isolation and Loneliness that Results from Trauma: How to Reconnect with People and the World
Highlights:
- Many people all over the world are feeling lonely. This can be overcome with understanding and efforts to reconnect.
- Traumatic experiences of child abuse and neglect can undermine your sense of self-worth and make you insecure around people.
- If you have been sexually abused, you may be burdened with secrets and the belief that no one who has not had that experience will ever understand you. You can overcome this and develop a sense of belonging.
- Becoming more aware of your negative thoughts can make you more open and confident to join groups, make new friends, and take action to end loneliness.
What is loneliness?
But just being with people is not enough. You can become lonely if you don’t communicate with people in a certain way. You don’t need a lot of people, but you do need a few people you can trust and rely on, people you enjoy and feel safe and good about yourself around.
We all need to be connected to other people. We also need some time alone. Being alone with your own thoughts can center and ground you, and some people need more time alone than others. But we need to have other people in our lives, not only family but also friends and some community.
Right now, there is an epidemic of loneliness in many countries in the world. In the United States, the Surgeon General Vivek Murthy reported that as many as one in four people say they feel lonely. In the United Kingdom, the government has created an official program to help people become less isolated and lonely.
Loneliness is harmful for your mental health and physical health, and it can shorten your life. But there are many ways to overcome loneliness. Often people don’t want to admit how lonely they are. The first thing is to accept how you feel, not judge yourself, and be willing to take action to find the connection you need that will change your life.
