How to Combat Loneliness During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Feeling lonely is a very common psychological symptom when you are working alone in a foreign country, especially during the coronavirus pandemic since you cannot go home and reunite with family and friends due to flight restrictions and segregation.

It's okay to worry, but don't let loneliness invade your heart. Everything will get better, and you are not alone anyway.

1. Keep in touch

Use technology to keep regular contact with your family and friends, such as giving them voice or video calls in your free time, and chatting with them about your recent life and work.

Furthermore, you can kill your free time by playing games. If possible, playing with your friends online which is more exciting and interesting.

Staying indoors for a long time will make people feel unusually lonely and depressed. Try to bring the coffee to the balcony to enjoy, and maybe you can see the beautiful sunset.

2. Communicate with colleagues

Losing contact with colleagues will exacerbate loneliness further more. If you are lucky to be able to work with your colleagues in the company or school, try to chat with them after class, such as taking about your teaching work and planning or just sharing some interesting trivial things in daily life.

If you are working from home now, use social software or phone to keep in touch with them to maintain a work-life balance.

Don't forget to keep your distance. (I mean social physical distance)

[Recommended Reading: How to Overcome Loneliness When Living Abroad ]

3. Help out to those in need

Helping those in need can give us psychological comfort. For example, if you think your family or friends are in a difficult situation, talk to them to see if you can do something for them; when you take a risk to buy necessities every week, ask your neighbors or colleagues if they also need them; or share teaching materials with your colleagues when they need them. Helping out to reduce others’ burdens will allow you to establish a good relationship with some friendly people as well as reduce your sense of loneliness.

4. Accept help

If you think that your family or friends cannot help you with your psychological problems or you feel uncomfortable when taking with them about it, you can ask for professional help, such as consulting a psychologist who will listen to you, and guide you on how to get out of psychological dilemmas and manage your emotions correctly during this hard period (the COVID-19 epidemic period).

Make sure you go to a regular hospital or psychological counseling center in the country for help, or purchase professional virtual health services online, so that you don't need to venture out.

5. Keep up with your self-care

A healthy life requires us to learn to love and take care of ourselves.

Use your spare time to develop / cultivate your hobbies, or plan some time every day to do something you like, such as flower arrangement, yoga, painting, dancing and so on.

Doing what you like regularly can improve your happiness and help you get rid of loneliness.

Remember, no matter how busy you are, never forget to give yourself some time for the self-care.