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Suffolk Mind

26 High Road West
Felixstowe
IP11 9JB

0300 111 6000
[email protected]
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  • Home
  • About us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Trustees
  • Services
    • COVID-19 advice & helpful resources
      • Resources for adults
      • Resources for children, parents & carers
      • Helpful support – telephone and online
    • Suffolk’s Needs Met
    • Anger Management
    • Anxiety Management
    • Counselling
    • Eating Recovery Group
    • Get Ready Step Forward
    • GreenCare
    • Mental Wellbeing for Suffolk’s LGBTQ+ Community
    • Mums Matter
    • Open Spaces
    • Personality Disorder Service – Waves
    • Suffolk Mind Connect
    • Suffolk Night Owls – Emotional Support Line
    • Suffolk Work Well
    • Supported housing
    • The Norfolk and Suffolk COVID-19 support service
  • For organisations
    • Who we’ve worked with
      • Case studies
    • CARES open course
    • Workplace Wellbeing Courses
      • Meeting Emotional Needs in Practice – virtual sessions
      • Keeping Calm, Mindful Breathing – virtual sessions
      • Sleep Well, Work Well – virtual sessions
      • Your Needs Met – virtual sessions
      • Introduction to the Emotional Needs and Resources model
      • CARES
      • Effective Communication for Wellbeing
      • Mindful Breathing
      • One-to-one coaching
      • One-to-one consultancy
      • Sleep Well, Work Well
      • Supporting Staff Mental Health for Managers (1 day)
      • Supporting Staff Mental Health for Managers (2 day)
      • Stress Management
      • Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder
      • Understanding Psychosis & Schizophrenia
    • Wellbeing Performance
    • Schools
      • EARLY Minds
    • Corporate fundraising
  • Get involved
    • Job vacancies
    • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Counsellors
    • Suffolk PenPals
    • Friends
  • Support us
    • Donate
      • Why regular donations matter
    • Leave a gift
    • Events & challenges
      • 100 Miles for Suffolk Mind
      • 100 Miles for Suffolk Mind t-shirts
    • Corporate Fundraising
    • Giving Pages
    • In memory
    • FAQ’s
  • More help
    • Emergency Contacts
    • Emotional Needs & Resources
    • General FAQs
    • Useful Links
    • Support Groups
    • Video: understanding suicide
    • Video: understanding self-harm
  • News
    • Blog
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • EARLY Minds resource cards
    • Emotional Needs and Resources cards
    • Suffolk’s Needs Met course manual
    • Suffolk’s Needs Met course manual & Emotional Needs and Resources cards set
    • The Qur’an & Emotional Health

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Are you feeling alone right now? Here’s some helpful advice to tackle loneliness

Loneliness is the feeling we get when our need to connect with others is not met. The Covid-19 outbreak has made it a lot harder for many of us to meet our need for social contact; both with those we care about and the wider community. Our Workplace Wellbeing Trainer Jo Flack gives us some helpful tips to tackle loneliness. 

If you are feeling lonely at this time, understand that it is natural to feel like this, because those everyday connections with friends, family and community are key to keeping us emotionally well. And take hope from the fact these changes will not last forever and there are things we can do to meet our need for emotional connection and community even at during these challenging times.

Here, we will explore some tips and ideas to help us tackle feelings of loneliness. Different things will work for different people at different times, so have a go at the suggestions that you feel will work best for you. And if some of them don’t feel possible for you right now, then try something else or come back to them at a time when it does feel right for you.

Tips to tackle loneliness

  • Spend some time with friends or family members in accordance with current guidelines, such as going for a walk or arranging to have a catch up on a park bench.
  • Even if you are staying at home, you can explore different ways to spend time with others: try a video call – perhaps over dinner to create a sense of shared enjoyment;  invite people to join an online quiz; connect through online games such as Scrabble, Cluedo or video games; or if you are unable to access technology, then schedule in a weekly telephone call to someone you care about.
  • Now may also be a good time to check in with people you have lost contact with, whether through social media, text chat, by picking up the phone or even writing a letter/sending a greetings card. Many of us love having contact with people we have lost touch with and this could be the perfect time to re-connect.
  • You could also do things you enjoy that help create a sense of being in company, such as listening to the radio, tuning into podcasts or taking a walk in a public space (whilst still keeping to social distancing guidelines.) Or join in as an audience member at one of the many online broadcasts that allow you to indulge in a night at the ballet, take in a show or laugh along to a comedy act. And with Christmas just round the corner, you will find several charities and other organisations offering online carol services to attend.
  • There is also a wide variety of online classes and courses available that can help you link in with others whilst also getting a sense of achievement and purpose. Maybe start by thinking about activities you have enjoyed in the past and research any local courses and classes you could give a go.
  • Another way to stay connected is to try some volunteering, there are now a variety of volunteering opportunities out there that you can do from home.
  • And remember that if you are struggling with a sense of loneliness, you are not alone. Maybe you have a neighbour who is also feeling isolated that you could chat to over the garden fence, or bake a cake for, or help out with shopping. And you can always reach out for support via an online community such as Mind’s Side by Side, or by calling a Coronavirus Support helpline.

Author: Kristina Brinkley

  • Blog
Posted on: 13th November 2020

Side by Side

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Suffolk Mind

56 minutes ago

Suffolk Mind

A massive well done to Roger for completing a marathon and raising an amazing £1214.60 for Suffolk Mind! Thank you for supporting us in our mission of making Suffolk the best place in the world for talking about and taking care of mental health. #SuffolkSaysThanks ... See MoreSee Less

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Suffolk Mind

6 hours ago

Suffolk Mind

We're calling for people to connect with others during lockdown by writing letters, picking up the phone, or shouting over the fence to your neighbours to try & halt the decline in our mental health.

To help with this, we've launched a new PenPal scheme so you can send us a letter and we'll get back to you. See more details here: www.suffolkmind.org.uk/news/connect-with-each-other-during-lockdown-to-halt-decline-in-mental-hea...
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Connect with each other during lockdown to halt decline in mental health - Suffolk Mind

www.suffolkmind.org.uk

Suffolk Mind has issued a plea to local people to write letters, telephone people they haven’t spoken to for a while, shout to neighbours over garden fences, or do whatever they can to connect with others to try and halt the decline in our mental health due to lockdown. For those that would like t...
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Suffolk Mind

1 day ago

Suffolk Mind

We're so pleased to be working alongside Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust to be offering support to the amazing professionals who are doing such a vital job on the frontline. www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/nsft-suffolk-mind-mental-health-support-7071474 ... See MoreSee Less

New mental health support for frontline coronavirus staff

www.ipswichstar.co.uk

NSFT has launched a new mental health support system for health and care staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Suffolk Mind

2 days ago

Suffolk Mind

Are you looking for a lockdown challenge? Why not take on 100 Miles for Suffolk Mind? Run, walk, hop or dance your way to completing the miles. Lola the dog has been loving the challenge! giving.suffolkmind.org.uk/events-and-challenges/100-miles-for-suffolk-mind ... See MoreSee Less

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Suffolk Mind

5 days ago

Suffolk Mind

A huge thank you to Tesco Extra for raising an amazing £772.92 in food vouchers for our Housing Projects. Lizzy, our Fundraising Coordinator happily picked them up last night. Thank you. ... See MoreSee Less

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SuffolkMindSuffolkMind@SuffolkMind·
23 Oct

Mums Matter is a new six week course that has been designed for mums in the Ipswich area who are experiencing mental health challenges in the perinatal period. If you have symptoms such as worrying thoughts, anxiety and postnatal depression, we can help: https://www.suffolkmind.org.uk/services/mums-matter/

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Most_ActiveKeep Moving Suffolk@Most_Active·
23 Oct

With the clocks going back this weekend, the latest blog from @SuffolkMind's @jonneal_UK, which focuses on helping our #mentalhealth over the winter months, is a must read.

Check it out at https://www.keepmovingsuffolk.com/the-clocks-are-going-back/

@NSFTtweets @Wellbeing_Suff @SuffolkSocials @SCCPublicHealth

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SuffolkMindSuffolkMind@SuffolkMind·
23 Oct

A huge thank you to Councillor James Finch for choosing Suffolk Mind as the Chairman's Charity of the Year. It has been a fantastic 18 months.

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21 Oct

Happy Birthday for Sunday Lee. Thank you for asking people to support Suffolk Mind.

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20 Oct

Do you want to come and join our team? We're looking for enthusiastic and dedicated part time support workers who can support our tenants by providing high levels of one-to-one support with all aspects of daily living. Visit our website for details: https://www.suffolkmind.org.uk/get-involved/job-vacancies/

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