Whether aching for connection in a room full of people or content in absolute solitude, in this pandemic the feeling of loneliness is no stranger to most of us.
What is Loneliness?
Recently I took a closer look at loneliness, exploring how it impacts each person differently, and why it affects some much more than others.
It’s normal to feel lonely due to changing circumstances; be it a breakup or mourning the loss of someone who is no longer there, the grieving process is an inevitable side effect of having such big, caring brains. However this feeling is not necessarily true loneliness but rather sadness or a longing for a lost connection. It’s a kin to a feeling that comes and goes like the weather or a season.
Social isolation and the lack of meaningful connection is at the heart of chronic loneliness and there can be many reasons for that including but not limited to mental and physical health issues, past relationship traumas and of course how can we forget; pandemics. We know what the problem is but what is the solution?
Recently I experienced major loneliness as my oldest child set off for college and my son was off visiting his father for the summer. For the first time in 17 years, I was alone. At first I was excited to have this time to myself, something that rarely happens as a single mother, but the novelty wore off and I became acutely aware that I had no life outside of my kids, work and chores. Among those chores was taking care of our pets.
I turned to my pets for comfort and purpose. The act of walking and feeding them, cuddling and talking to them gives me something else to do, to think about and to channel my energy towards. Walking my dogs forces me to get up, get dressed and see the world. Through this daily act I get exercise, fresh air and of course unconditional love.
My pets reminded me of how important connection is and why we must work on ourselves and our relationships with others as part of maintaining a healthy mindset.
Both of my dogs are rescues, but in reality, they rescued me. Pets rescue us by giving us purpose and connection. They can help us in so many ways, such as being an exercise partner for losing weight and staying active. They can help calm anxiety or just make us laugh.
Here at Sexy Brilliant we are all animal lovers and pet parents. We would like to encourage you to go to your local animal shelter and adopt a pet today. They need our help and we need theirs.
According to an article published by Harvard Health Medical. A Swedish study that followed 3.4 million participants found that people between the ages of 40 and 80 who lived alone and had a dog lived longer healthier lives and decreased their risk of death by 33%.
It is never to late to become a pet person.
Loneness is nothing to be ashamed of, it can happen to all of us at one time or another in our lives. If you are struggling with loneliness please seriously consider adopting a pet today! We here at Sexy Brilliant think being a pet parent is AWSOME!
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