Struggling with addiction and mental health issues can leave us feeling totally alone, isolated and hopeless. We feel alone in our pain. We don’t think anyone understands the depth of our emotions. We struggle to understand how we feel, let alone verbalize and communicate it with other people. When you’re feeling most alone, try to remember a few key things that might help you to feel better.
Everyone in the world has felt the way you’re feeling right now. Pain is one tie that binds all of humanity together. Whether or not we’re able to admit it, we have all felt the sting of isolation, the fear of being alone, the painful weight of loneliness. Take comfort in knowing that even though you feel alone, you’re not at all alone in the way you feel. It’s a universal emotion. We tend to think that our pain is brand new and that no one has felt it the way we’re feeling it. While each of our experiences with feeling our pain is unique because we are unique as individuals, the pain of feeling alone is much more common than we might realize.
Try to remember that your feelings aren’t your entire reality, they are just a part of it. We have the power to change our focus, and therefore change our reality as we experience it. There is so much to be mindful of and grateful for, outside of the one emotion of feeling alone. We can broaden our perspective. We always have the choice to direct our thoughts in ways that can make us feel better. For example, instead of dwelling on how sad we feel because we’re feeling lonely, we could choose thoughts such as “I have plenty of time to myself that I could give to my passions and interests. I am learning how to enjoy my own company. There are so many possibilities in solitude.” We can start to forge a new relationship with our aloneness, where we learn to embrace it rather than fear it.
Over time we come to realize that much of our growth and expansion, our growing pains and difficult lessons, come to us when we’re able to access our inner stillness, silence and spaciousness. It can be impossible to reach that place when we’re constantly around other people, in unhealthy relationships, and dealing with conflicts and issues. We need solitude to access that inner place of strength and peace. We find that beautiful things come out of being alone, and we come to appreciate it.
We understand addiction and the journey of recovery very well. We’re here to offer the community, support and care you need to help you get better. Call Vista Taos at (575) 613-4810 for more information.
