Living alone can be very beneficial as it can help you build your confidence, learn new skills, and work in peace and quiet. This living arrangement also allows you to design until you drop and discover true freedom.
But, although living alone enables you to do basically anything you want, things can get lonely at times. This is one of the reasons why people who are living alone are at high risk of developing anxiety and other mental health conditions.
Everyone experiences anxiety at some point in their life, and if you live alone, it’ll be more challenging to handle this mental health condition. Living alone means you have to do everything by yourself, and this includes managing your anxiety.
Taking care of your mental health can be tough when you’re alone, but there are many strategies that can help you out.
Aside from finding a counselor for anxiety counseling, listed below are tips that can help you manage your anxiety while you’re living alone.
Best Tips To Manage Your Anxiety:
1. Make Plans With Your Friends.
A lot of people find themselves more productive when they live alone. Without any distractions, it’ll be very easy for these individuals to accomplish tasks fast. You’ll be free from any kind of distractions when you live alone.
But, although being alone helps you get the job done, this doesn’t mean that you should be alone all of the time. Remember, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” and working too much can become the reason why you will experience anxiety.
Regardless of how much you love your job at home, make plans with your friends every once in a while as this is an excellent way of managing anxiety and taking care of your mental wellness.
If you have been working hard during the weekdays, opt to take the weekends off by watching a movie or eating at a fancy restaurant with your friends. Reach out to your friends and initiate activities that everyone can enjoy.
Creating a healthy work-life balance will help you retain your focus when working, without contemplating on how lonely you are because you live alone. By the time you get home from a night with your friends, you’ll be too tired to accommodate negative thoughts. Spending time with your friends can also refresh your mind and body so you can do more at work.
When you live alone, you will have the same routine every single day. Because you get to control everything, living alone can eventually lead to boredom, stress, and anxiety. You can prevent this from happening by breaking the monotony and inviting friends over to your place.
Hosting a small get together with your friends might be stressful at first, but the entire process is actually beneficial to your mental health.
When you host a get together at home, you will be in charge of everything, from deciding when to hold the gathering to choosing what food to serve. When you organize and plan an event, you will be able to attain structure and order in your mental and physical facets.
You’re the host, which means that you’ll have a better idea of what will transpire during the entire event, allowing you to feel at ease.
2. Maintain Close Relationships With Your Family.
Before you lived alone, you likely lived under the same roof with your family.
People who have lived with their families all of their lives and, then, decided to live alone are the ones that are prone to anxiety and other mental health problems. The change can be too overwhelming for them as they will be clueless on how to adapt to their new environment.
If you’re one of these people, don’t worry because you don’t have to lose connection with your family just because you are living far away from them.
Another way to combat anxiety when you live alone is to exert effort in maintaining close relationships with your family.
Regardless of your location, you can easily communicate with your family through video calls and online chats. You can also send SMS to update them of your achievements or milestones when you live alone.
Aside from maintaining a healthy relationship with your family, talking to them as regularly as possible will help you maintain your overall mental health because they can help you cope with challenging times.
This will also remind you that you are not alone, even if you are physically living by yourself.
3. Give Back To Your Community.
As mentioned, living alone means going through the same routine every day. Since you’ll have full control of the space, you’ll get to decide what time to wake up, eat breakfast, and leave home for work. Sure, this kind of living arrangement might be convenient, but, over time, this will eventually cause stress and anxiety.
What will you look forward to if you already know how your day will start and end?
If you feel uncomfortable over the idea of returning to an empty house in the evenings, give back to your community.
Make the most out of your leisure time by volunteering at a homeless shelter or organize a movement that you’re truly passionate about.
Sharing your skills by helping other people can be a great platform for you to improve your mood and gain a positive social support system.
By doing this, you will be able to help people around you, which can also be very gratifying on your part.
Instead of sulking at home all by yourself, participating in the activities in your community can fill your leisure time with more positive energy.
Moreover, giving back to your community allows you to meet new people who can eventually become your friends.
These individuals can become your best buddies with whom you will spend time accomplishing other social activities.
4. Adopt A Pet.
Contrary to popular belief, managing anxiety when you live alone is not difficult. More often than not, this task will only require you to welcome a four legged friend in your home. One of the easiest and most fun ways to manage anxiety when you live alone is to adopt a pet.
Depending on your preferences and available space, you can choose between a dog or a cat, or if you’re looking for a small pet, a hamster or bird can be a great option.
Pets will ward off anxiety and depression because having them around means you will have a companion 24 7.
Pets can also improve your physical health as you will be encouraged to exercise more often and meet other pet owners around your neighborhood.
However, since adopting a pet requires responsibility, assess first if you actually have the time and money to have one at home. Regardless of the size and type of pet you’ll have, remember that you have to feed your pet every day, buy them essential items, such as toys, and take them to the vet regularly.
If you think you can manage all of these responsibilities, getting a pet could be an excellent option for you.
5. Try Out A New Hobby.
Most adults strive to climb up the professional ladder in order to earn more.
This is one of the reasons why adults would work for long hours every single day and disregard their social life.
If you want to achieve your professional goals without compromising your mental health, it’s best if you try out a new hobby.
Hobbies are great activities that force you to take some time for yourself, help you declutter your mind, and relieve yourself from stress.
These activities also encourage you to take breaks, experience new challenges, and prevent you from wasting time on unhealthy and harmful habits. All of these benefits can help you better take care of your mental health and ward off any symptoms of anxiety.
When choosing a hobby, spend some time to consider the cost involved, your schedule, and interests.
The hobby you’ll pick should be very easy for you to do, not something that will seem like a chore. For example, if you’re an art lover, you can try out painting.
If you love DIY crafts, you might consider trying out paper quilling or scrapbooking.
You can also look for hobbies that help you earn so you’ll remain busy during the day.
6. Strive To Stay Calm All The Time.
One of the reasons why people suffer from anxiety is because they stress themselves out over things that they can’t control.
These people would obsess about looking for solutions to combat the current situation so they can experience convenience and comfort. However, doing this will only result in more stress.
Instead of stressing about the things that you can’t control, staying calm is always a better path to take.
The latter allows you to effectively manage the current situation without sacrificing your mental health.
Staying calm when you live alone will enable you to adapt to any stressful situation and effectively ward off stress.
Although it can be challenging at first, here’s how you can stay calm all the time.
Practice mindfulness: There are many apps today that can help you practice mindfulness. You can start by doing some breathing exercises or trying out some yoga. These activities can help you relax your mind and boost your mood.
Clean up your social media: Social media can help you stay updated and connect with friends and family, but spending too much time on these online platforms can also harm your mental health. People will usually post negative content that will eventually affect your mental health. For you to benefit from social media, unfollow people who are always sharing negative content online. Be careful on the pages you follow and make sure that these aren’t full of negativity.
Take a break from the news: Knowing the latest happenings around the world is essential for you to stay on the loop. But, there will be instances when the news you read online can adversely affect your mental health. Limit the time you listen to and watch the news and allow your mind to take breaks. Let your mind breathe so you won’t be overwhelmed with all the mishaps happening across the world.
7. Be Easy On Yourself And Be Prepared For Difficult Times.
Regardless of how you’re able to control the situation when you live alone, there will be instances when life gets hard.
Even if you have tried all of the tips mentioned in this article, there will be instances when you’ll still feel lonely.
This is a common scenario that happens to everyone. But, instead of denying loneliness, it’s always better to accept this emotion and look for ways on how you can combat it before it gets worse. Loneliness, when left untreated, can cause anxiety and other mental health conditions.
For you to be mentally prepared for difficult times and combat loneliness, take note of the following tips.
Play background music: If you see yourself lonely during the day as your home is too quiet, play some background music by turning on your TV. The noise your TV creates can help you drown your loneliness and make your home feel more lively. If you’re leaning towards this direction, avoid leaving your TV on all day. Excessive noise can also force your brain to sort out the noise in your home, which can potentially cause more stress.
Reach out to people: Talking to a friend during different times of the day can do wonders for your mental health. If you have a problem, merely opening up to a friend can improve your mood and bring happiness. If you see yourself troubled during the day, reach out to people who are dear to you. Let them know how you are feeling and ask for pieces of advice if you think that you’ve hit a dead end.
Make your bed cozier: People who live alone often feel lonely even at night. This makes it hard for them to get some shuteye and can eventually become the reason why their health will be compromised.
Make sure that this doesn’t happen to you by making your bed cozier and warmer. When sleeping alone, choose to add extra pillows in your bedroom so that you will feel less empty.
Pillows can also make your bedroom cozier, making it very easy for you to sleep.
You can also invest in AC units that can make your bedroom cooler so you can sleep fast.
Regardless if you are living alone, you should not disregard your mental health. On the contrary, you should exert time and effort in taking care of it because it’ll be tough for you to enjoy your independence as you’re living alone if you have poor mental health.
If you need any additional help, you can write to us at [email protected] about your problems and we will personally see how we can help you overcome your obstacles and live your best life.
