Title: Loneliness: How to Cope During the Holiday Season
Headings: Loneliness and the Holidays
Loneliness and the Holidays
Dealing With Loneliness During the Holiday Season
Be Good to Yourself
Understand That You’re Not Alone
Rethink Your Expectations
Get Connected
Cultivate Gratitude
Give to Others
Examine Your Feelings
Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast
A Word From Verywell

Content: Rethink Your Expectations
Part of why holidays feel more lonely for many people is that our society has high expectations for this time of year. The absence of a romantic partner or a close family seems magnified during this busy time when we’re all supposed to be going to parties, exchanging gifts, and enjoying jolly feelings with loved ones. One way to deal with the feelings of loneliness is to rethink your expectations. For example, realizing that it's just fine to take a good friend (instead of "the perfect date") to a holiday party, or that the imperfect love of a difficult family member still counts as love, has helped many people feel less lonely. It's also important to realize that few people’s lifestyles truly measure up to “movie standards” of perfect living, and in doing so, shift your focus to all the great things you do have in your life. Note: Social media can create significant amounts of stress in this area, so do your best to count your blessings instead of comparing yourself to others and the life they portray online. Get Connected
You may feel lonely when surrounded by people, but it’s harder to feel lonely when you’re reaching out to them. 3 ﻿﻿﻿﻿ Whether you’re saying hello to neighbors, exchanging friendly words with people at the office, writing holiday cards, or picking up the phone and calling an old friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, reaching out to people and strengthening bonds can help you feel more connected and less lonely. This may be a time to message people over social media whose statuses you usually simply "like," and catch up on old friendships.