Are you feeling lonely or isolated within your home?
As people get older, naturally, we are exposed to a lot. This exposure could be loss, regeneration, mental health, or even a global pandemic which can lead to a change within the life that surrounds us. We must adapt to this change within our lives and carry on, whatever this change may be. Throughout the process of change, individuals can often reject embracing a difference within their livelihood and will naturally isolate themselves from the world around them. This self – isolation can encourage the feeling of loneliness within their own home.
Here at Careline we support you so you can live independently within your home, but we also want you to be happy within the environment around you. So, together with our partner LILY we have some advice for you to avoid feeling lonely and to avoid physically isolating yourself within your home…
Find your community
Whether you have lived in an area for 12 years or 12 weeks, do you really know what is going on within your community? One of the best ways to combat loneliness is being active and getting involved with others. The best way to find out about community activities is through looking online or checking out notice boards within local shops etc. Find something that could spark interest for an old hobby or join a group based on anything relevant to who you are, people are out there waiting to connect without you even knowing.
If you are local to West Norfolk the online Lily directory ( Things to do | LILY (asklily.org.uk) ) is where you can see what is going on within your area, and you can also ring up and speak to someone if you are unsure on what to attend.
Talk
It may not be easy now, or you may think you have nothing to talk about. However, when you open up and speak about how you feel whether you talk about feeling lonely or talk about your favourite animal, conversing with another being can create connections. Connections can be emotional, physical and mental and these connections are so important as it could lead to you finding an opportunity to be supported, listened to and heard. Getting things off your chest could be that moment of relief you need to feel the weight being lifted from your shoulders.
You’re not alone
When feeling lonely and isolated, it is often normal to feel like you are the only person in the world to feel the way you do. Over 9 million people within the UK feel lonely, with 1.2 million being categorised as ‘older people’. Unless you looked for these statistics, you wouldn’t be aware of the loneliness impact within our country. Whether someone has been through a similar situation or has led a completely different life to you, someone probably at one point in their existence has felt lonely. You are not alone with how you feel, do not hesitate to reach out to the different services available.
Check out Lily’s online directory LILY (asklily.org.uk) or please contact us at Careline Community Services on our phone number 01553 616200 or please email us at careline.operators@west-norfolk.gov.uk, and we will help you as much as we can.
