% Loneliness

When you are lonely, it becomes harder and harder to make new friends
and to form relationships. There are several ways to combat loneliness:

-   Go outside. Don't stay indoors on your computer or in front of your
    computer all day. Go outside and do something. It could be a hobby
    (you can form new hobbies). Go somewhere where there are people, and
    try to mix with them. This is easier if you find like-minded people
    who share hobbies/interests that you have, e.g. in a club or group
    for the thing that you want to do
-   Do sports. Even if you're not good at it, it can help. There are
    many types of sports you can do, e.g. karate (or other martial arts)
    as training/practise, where you are interacting with people, and you
    can form friendships that way
-   Talk to people on the internet. When you're at home, if you have
    no one around and no one that you can see, find a community on the
    internet for something that you're interested in. You could also
    form your own community for a given topic or project, if you have
    the interest/skills for it (whatever it is).
-   Get a pet. Pets (particularly dogs) can be a wonderful thing to help
    with loneliness and most dogs will love you unconditionally
-   Watch lots of TV. TV (or any live media) can be useful as
    entertainment generally, as a distraction, and there are people in
    TV who you might be able to relate to. This is useful during those
    times where it is not possible to see anyone. You could also watch
    films/movies, etc
-   Read a book. Reading is very good for loneliness, and reading is
    free in most countries (via public libraries)
-   Basically do anything that you think will increase your contact with
    other human beings.

<http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/loneliness/>

<http://www.webofloneliness.com/>

