Lonely but not Alone
About six or seven months ago I wrote a post about how being alone doesn't make you lonely (read it here, if you want), and I still stand by that post. Getting some quality alone time is still an important source of mental recovery for me, but there is a major difference in my life between when I wrote that post and what I'm about to write now. Up until that point, I had only ever experienced loneliness in spurts. Of course, everyone feels lonely from time to time, and for me, it was a fleeting feeling, something I could sleep off and be good to go the next day.However, things have changed a bit since then. As I detailed in my last post about moving to Canada, I shared that I've been feeling a bit isolated since I moved. I wake up every day and at least once a day, if not for most of the day, I feel lonely.
On the surface, I might not seem that lonely. I live with my boyfriend so he's usually around, he and I go out almost every weekend and hang out with various friends and family, and I have my own family and friends spread out over the world that I know I could call for anything.So then why do I feel this way? I’m busy all the time, I’m meeting new people, and attending events. It seems like I shouldn’t feel this way but it keeps happening so I've narrowed my feelings down to three components:
I work from home. This will naturally isolate and prevent me from making work friends or attending work social events as people who work in offices do. Even though I’m afforded a lot of flexibility because of this, it is a major hurdle when moving to a new city.
I feel out of place in this city. Yes, Canada isn't too different from the U.S. on the whole, but is Calgary different from L.A? They are on OPPOSITE ends of the spectrum. Although L.A. isn't my absolute favorite city, I fit in with the culture there much more so than in Calgary. So even though I live here now, I still feel like I’m a fish out of water
I have not made any of my own local friends. This is probably the biggest issue and I think it's the most difficult to solve. I have some amazing friends from L.A. and from all over, that I am so close to but the thing is that it takes years to get that close to someone. It is SO rare that you sit down for coffee and have a four-hour conversation right off the bat. So even though I've met a couple people on my own, it hasn't made me feel too much better because the deep conversations I build most of my relationships on are off the table for now.
The worst part of this feeling is that I feel like I'm not allowed to feel this way. I know that's irrational and I can't let anyone make me feel like my own brand of loneliness isn't valid, but when I look at my life as a whole, I do have a lot of people I am super grateful for and that makes me feel even guiltier that I feel this way.Alright, alright, CLEARLY I'm not in a good place right now but I'm not the type of person who can just sit back and do nothing. So, what will I be doing to combat the loneliness?
Working from home is a tough one to overcome BUT for this one, I'm thinking of looking into co-working spaces, which are like offices for those who have stay-at-home jobs. I have also taken on more side projects which keep me busier and introduce me to different kinds of people (although still remotely). Lastly, I've resolved to make an even bigger effort in staying in touch with my friends and family from home and around the world. Even though they're not here, every time I talk to them I do feel way better.
Fitting in in Calgary is going to be hard for me since I don't want to change too much of my personality and hobbies. I like the person I am today, and I am constantly wary of losing that. BUT, it never hurt anyone to pick up a new skill so in an effort to get more into the active/outdoorsy culture here, I have been learning to ski (last month was cross-country country skiing, this month will be downhill skiing), and I'm going to take up rock-climbing. I'm also making a list of everything I want to see and do here while I have the chance, to make exploring more exciting for me.
Last but not least, the making new friends bit. I've met a couple girls now that I'd like to get to know better so now it's just a matter of sucking up my pride and asking them to hang out whenever I can. I am also still looking constantly for things I could get involved in that would allow me to meet more like-minded people but a resolution is still pending on that front.
lonelinessfeature
I know loneliness is not uncommon, especially in today’s day and age, but these feelings are wildly new for me, so I’ve been struggling quite a bit with them. If you have any advice for combatting loneliness in a new city, feel free to send me a message or comment below!.