You may experience feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression if you do not have a romantic love in your life. These feelings can come and go throughout the year, but the winter season can tend to make the feelings worse. The following are some tips that may help you find happiness and self-worth:
- Recognize if you are feeling lonely, anxious or depressed. Never minimize your feelings.
- Give yourself grace and take each day at a time.
- Create a purpose for each day that works for you.
- Don’t dwell on not having a romantic partner.
- Focus on the people in your life who do love you. Just because you’re not in a relationship does not mean you don’t have love. You may have friends, family members, fellow church members or others who love you.
- Spend less time on social media. Social media is where people can create false depictions of their lives, only showing the positive parts and making you feel like you are missing out.
- Celebrate or honor your loved one if you are a widow or if you’ve recently lost a loved one.
Self-Worth is Key
The most important thing is for you to feel worthy. Don’t put pressure on yourself. Look for ways to enhance the love you have for yourself and others.
Think about who you are and about the environment around you. Instead of focusing on what other people around you have, focus on what you do have:
- You’re able to wake up every day.
- You have connections with people, whether they’re through work, friendships, family, etc. These connections provide you with opportunities daily where you can give love and accept it back.
Also, keep track of your feelings throughout the day or week. This can help you find a pattern of when you’re most likely to feel lonely during the day or night. Finding patterns can help you create more opportunities for reflection on what you do have or what you can be grateful for, which can help you realize that things are not as bad as you initially thought.
Additionally, at the end of each day, you can jot down one or two things you are grateful for. The next morning, you can look back at what you wrote down and reflect on those things.
There are many ways you can display self-love and build your self-worth. Displaying self-love now can help you be fully present when you are in a romantic relationship.
UofL Health Can Help
If you are experiencing loneliness, anxiety or depression, there are resources for you.
An individual can call UofL Health – Peace Hospital’s Referral and Assessment Center at 502-451-3333 or go to 2020 Newburg Road, Louisville, Ky. 40205 for a free level of care assessment. The level of care assessment can provide assistance with treatment options, including group therapy, individual therapy or inpatient hospitalization. These services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If someone is in crisis they can also call or send a text to 988, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides confidential support to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
