Lonely Life

[CreativeUsername]

So to start, let me give you the basics. I'm seriously depressed, I have terrible social anxiety which has caused me to homeschool, I'm generally shy, and for all those reasons, I have no real friends. I have a few people that I talk to on different social media sites occasionally, but I don't consider them real friends, since I don't even know their real name. Currently I'm working on getting back into a real brick and mortar school, and I'm going to start taking meds that will hopefully help, but until then, how do I cope with having no friends? How do I not let the loneliness make the depression worse? I've tried extra-curricular activities, but it makes me to anxious to keep doing them, and if I do, the anxiety prevents me from making friends. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but how can I not feel lonely, when I don't have friends?

[Syzygy]

a lot of people will say loneliness is not a real problem and nothing needs to be done for those people despite the fact that humans are social creatures

[West Coast Sheriff]

a lot of people will say loneliness is not a real problem and nothing needs to be done for those people despite the fact that humans are social creatures


I disagree loneliness is a real problem. However, it's up to you how you deal with it. In the mean time, focus on your school work. My best suggestion would be to find s hobby. I think joining a gym is great or picking up a pair of running shoes and start running in your neighborhood. These are great ways to relieve stress and/or anxiety. I'm not denying that loneliness sucks but, like all other hurdles, there is a way over or around it. Also, wait and see how your medication affects you.

[CreativeUsername]

I disagree loneliness is a real problem. However, it's up to you how you deal with it. In the mean time, focus on your school work. My best suggestion would be to find s hobby. I think joining a gym is great or picking up a pair of running shoes and start running in your neighborhood. These are great ways to relieve stress and/or anxiety. I'm not denying that loneliness sucks but, like all other hurdles, there is a way over or around it. Also, wait and see how your medication affects you.


I already work out three times a week, sometimes more.

[northy]

I already work out three times a week, sometimes more.
Join a running or gym club. The only way to overcome social anxiety (in my experience) is to plunge yourself in the deep end and see how it goes.

[StoppingTime]

If you're seriously looking to just not feel lonely and nothing else, then really, it's all about your perception of your life. From what you've said, it sounds like you're going to start trying to be more social, and that in itself will likely be a pretty difficult process. So you can either focus on the fact that you'll be doing that and you can focus your energy on trying to make friends or be more active in your school, or even before that, just understand that the state you're in now probably won't be where you'll be for that much longer in the future. It sounds like you're aware of your anxiety and how it restricts you from doing things, and you want to work towards controlling it; whether that's through medication, action, or both.
So the tldr is that what you're feeling now, assuming you go through with what you said, is only temporary. And focusing on other things (and yourself, too) is a good way to distract yourself, if you think that'd help, too