Do's and Don'ts while Helping a Lonely Friend

If you have a lonely friend and you really want to help them come out of loneliness and make new friends, you need to need to just follow some do's and don'ts. Before you go through them, please understand that loneliness is just a phase which anyone of us go through at some point or the other, so show your compassion towards him/her.

Some Do's while trying to help a Lonely Friend

• Be with them. In the initial phase, they don't like to socialize, therefore you alone should be there with them, before trying to make them interact with new people.
• Give them an ear and a shoulder to cry. Sometimes the best way to help a lonely friend is to listen to what they have to say. They want someone to become their confession box and you need to play that role. This will relieve them as well as help you bond with them better.
• Try to give different interpretation of things when they are overtly negative about something. Sometimes, they may get very negative about a small gesture or something said to them, an off-hand comment maybe. You need to make them see such things in a different light or at least make them realize that it shouldn’t mean that much to them. This will go a long way in getting them to their normal happy self.
• Take them out for a picnic, a movie or something you know they like, ONLY if they are willing, don't force them.
• Even if you are with your partner, don't leave your single friend alone, take them with you sometimes.
• Introduce your friends to him/her and try to make them feel comfortable.
• Make them busy in something so that they don't keep thinking all by own through-out the day. Group activities are very effective in such cases. Developing a new hobby does wonders in bringing back the composure of people but it may not be very simple to persuade them into it.
• Lastly (this is something which I have done myself), ask them to join some online community or network, where they can interact with strangers without any fear and can share their thoughts, debate with them, do anything just to take out what they are holding inside. Warning: Make sure your friend is not getting addicted to these online mediums.

Some Don'ts while trying to Relieving Loneliness of a Friend

• Don't treat them as if they are ill. They are just going through a phase of life or may be their nature is such and therefore, just help them rather than making a fuss about it.
• Don't be too loud and make him/her feel you are doing some sort of charity.
• Don't cancel your plans of meeting them after you have promised them in advance. This may make them feel lower and they might further go into their shell.
• Don't make them self-conscious. Give them freedom to express themselves.
• Don't leave them in a company of strangers at a party. Be with them, they need your support at such times to open-up with strangers.

Last words : What you are trying to do is very noble and are being a FRIEND INDEED, be good to them in their hour of need and surely your friendship will grow leaps and bounds.

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