How Do I Cope With Feelings Of Isolation?

Apr 05, 2019

Anonymous asks, quote:
I feel guilty a lot for not being able to hang out with and do the things my able‐bodied friends do for fun. What do you do to cope with these feelings, if you have them?
end quote.

Maybe you have a friends that you used to do stuff with with, but now things are difficult due to an injury or illness.

Was your friendship based on your shared interest? Or was it based on the value of the individual relationships in that group? It’s fine if it’s the latter: lots of people are friends simply because they share a hobby.

If that’s the case: it’s time to find new friends. Take some time to explore new hobbies or and then find people who share those hobbies.

If that’s not the case: do a video call on a regular basis. Call up the crew and hang out online. Do any of them play games online? Give one of those games a try.

I know your question was about feeling isolated and like you can’t participate. But the things is, you don’t deal with feeling isolated: you do everything in your power to not be isolated.

If that means, finding activities to do with your friends that you can participate in, great. If it means finding new friends because the old ones are suddenly into ultimate frisbee, that’s okay too.