General guidelines for helping others who are struggling with loneliness. Focus on quality time rather than activities. Let's say you have an aging parent who is particularly lonely and you want to help. So you decide that you will call them regularly. Instead of assuming that your conversations are some kind of mission where your job is to A) figure out why they're lonely and B) come up with ways to help them be less lonely, instead just focus on be present with them. You don't have to talk about anything specific or even be particularly “helpful.” Often, simply being there for someone who is lonely is by far the most valuable thing you can do. Consistency versus intensity. In my experience, small, ongoing connections are more beneficial to people than large, intermittent ones. For example, if you have a friend who you know really struggles with loneliness, it's possible that talking on the phone for 5 minutes once a day will be much more beneficial for them than one or two hour-long conversations a month - this is especially true in the early stages. Be open about your feelings for them. This is one of those things that we all probably know but really need a reminder. Even if a person who is technically single knows that you care about them, they may not feel it. This means that one of the most helpful things you can do is to openly declare your feelings for this person: say I love you; remind them of what you truly value about them; tell them specifically how your relationship was important or meaningful to you. The other reason this is really important is that it models and makes it safe for them to behave like this. Many lonely people are hesitant to show emotion (even if they know they should). By doing this, you can send a signal to them that this is okay, and therefore it will be a little easier for them to follow suit. Be assertive (but not pushy). If someone you care about has struggled with loneliness for a long time, it's unlikely to change overnight. Think about how a flower grows: after the seed is planted, nothing seems to happen for weeks or months. But then, suddenly, it sprouts. Of course, it's not really all of a sudden - something was happening, you just couldn't see it. Well, the same thing can happen when you're trying to support lonely people: it may seem like they don't appreciate or make any effort, but in reality it could be that there's more movement going on than you can see and you just need to be patient. On the other hand, you don't want to be pushy or aggressive, so try to keep that balance in mind. Help them feel comfortable first. A big mistake people make when trying to help the lonely people in their lives is that they try to simply push them into doing something they assume will be good for them. But here's the thing: They may need a warm-up period first. For example, let's say you have a friend who has been very lonely and you want to try to convince them to get back on the basketball court because you know how much they enjoyed playing basketball. Well, instead of trying to convince them to start playing basketball after a couple of years, you could start by inviting them to watch basketball with you on TV a few times. Then maybe you guys will just play alone together for a while. And only after that, imagine the idea of ​​returning to games. In other words, most people will need to alleviate loneliness, not just escape from it. Thank you for reading! Request a consultation on the B17 website and come visit our website https://manylova.rf/Phone: +79221955183 I will be glad to help