Feeling very Empty and alone

My time is spent going to school and working. That is all I do. I do not have many friend just 1-2 that are also busy. So o do get lonely sometimes. When I feel bored I just work more. I think I am afraid to be idle because of feeling that empty feeling.

But lately I think all work and school is draining me and making me feel more negative and well cranky. Been snapping at people a lot lately.

I know I should join a gym or do ah activity but A) I been trying to cut down on expenses because my school tuition is very costly and B) the will power to actually go doesn't exist primarily because I can't find something affordable that I would enjoy to do alone.

When I was in a similar spot, I found a workout group on meetup. Was cheaper, and gave me social validation that wasn't intimate. Turned my life a good 90 degrees for the better.

Meet up is a mess of false starts, but I'd give it a shot because it has almost no down sides.

How do you generally feel about being alone?

I enjoy it, I do great alone but there always comes the time I need friends or someone.

I would suggest finding activities you "enjoy", work is not a healthy way to fill your time. You need to refresh your mind, have some time off to enjoy.

Search for happiness inside of you, not in others. Be your own best friend.

You don't need money to go to the park and run for a while.

It's hard for sure but not impossible to make connections with new people. I hate being alone, my hunger for social interaction is far greater than a couple of friends who are busy with their own lives could ever meet. I've been trying hard to connect with people for the last year straight, it's not been a total failure, there are more people who are willing and interested in spending time with me now that there was a year ago. (Still lonely often though, not good at all at throwing myself into work and hobbies).

Search for happiness inside of you, not in others. Be your own best friend.

You don't need money to go to the park and run for a while.

I kept telling myself the same thing. It turned out to be self-limiting, even though I agree 100% with the statement. It dismisses a natural part of how i recharge myself. The same might be true for the OP.

OP: If you generally get energy from talking to others, then find a group situation to help you. I found several, I stuck with one until it eventually disbanded. The workout group addressed several goals - other people, low threshold of commitment, exercise, cheaper than a gym. I tried running groups and it didn't work as well because of the intimacy of the connection and the need to actually show up - too much pressure for me when I am out of town 12+ times a year. I will try it again though because I need the connection and tend to drop my run when on my own.

It's hard for sure but not impossible to make connections with new people. I hate being alone, my hunger for social interaction is far greater than a couple of friends who are busy with their own lives could ever meet. I've been trying hard to connect with people for the last year straight, it's not been a total failure, there are more people who are willing and interested in spending time with me now that there was a year ago. (Still lonely often though, not good at all at throwing myself into work and hobbies).

Good for you. You are implementing prior advice given, I think. You are creating the change you want to achieve the strength you want. Good for you!

The loneliness thing is tough, it is not a weakness, but a symptom of how isolated you feel. It takes time to make connections, survey them for who you'd like to invest in further, and build that friendship. Tough it out as you are.

Some things that helped me seem silly. They helped a lot. Places I go everyday, I would say Hello! So that when I got a coffee or entered a building or picked up my dry cleaning, those people who work at those places came to know my name and greet me warmly.

Years later, I have hugged my dry cleaner when he was in tears, and recently given a gift that he will fix up and pass on to someone in need and lonely herself. I have seen my security guy in church and learned of his family history in a war environment. I cried with someone I used to see at a monthly work stop; thank goodness she left because to her I said too much on a bad day - a risk.

Make your world work for you. All those little hellos got me through my darkest years, and continue to return gifts. People look out for me when I wander about, in little ways, because I am familiar to them.

It seems silly but it worked.

Also, remember: Change is a discomfort zone. How you feel right now is logical, it makes sense, and is a symptom of growth. Tough it out, and you will have an example of how you can manage anything.

Search for happiness inside of you, not in others. Be your own best friend.

You don't need money to go to the park and run for a while.

Hi Brutal555

The issue is I am the type of person that does love to interact with others. I am a waitress so do always do that but lately just been feeling very emotional and negative.

The change started when my ex that I have written to you about contacted me again few weeks ago asking to rekindle things. He turned 360 from what he said this summer and said he loved and cared for me. I did not believe him and had my guard up. However, I did see him once and did respond to his texts and I think that is what gave me a shift in my mood. We just spoke and I wasn't very accommodating to his suggestion of giving it another shot, for obvious reasons. I know he is not worth the pain or tears he will give me.

The previous pain, the feeling of loneliness, the fear of being alone. I feel that he will keep coming back and I'll just have this one ty person in my life That I'll eventually break go to him and I'll just be a loser and repeat the same cycle.

It's the realization that unlike him I do not have friends or support or anyone. He would always make fun of me for not having friends.

He sounds like a negative jerk who brings you down and whom you need to block, delete and never allow contact from again.

He would always make fun of me for not having friends.

He sounds like a negative jerk who brings you down and whom you need to block, delete and never allow contact from again.

He does bring me down. I had blocked and deleted him but he contacted me via a different email ID. To be clear he did not mention the friend topic that to me when he contacted me a few days ago but he spoke about his friends and that sorta triggered the memory of his hurtful words

He does bring me down. I had blocked and deleted him but he contacted me via a different email ID. To be clear he did not mention the friend topic that to me when he contacted me a few days ago but he spoke about his friends and that sorta triggered the memory of his hurtful words

You know yourself better than he knows you. Let his words be powerless and meaningless.

You know yourself better than he knows you. Let his words be powerless and meaningless.

I don't agree that having limited friends makes you a loser. But it does hurt not to have friends or anyone for support. Which is why his words do have power. In addition, I made myself vulnerable to this person making his words more powerful, harder for me to ignore

I don't agree that having limited friends makes you a loser. But it does hurt not to have friends or anyone for support. Which is why his words do have power. In addition, I made myself vulnerable to this person making his words more powerful, harder for me to ignore

Yes, I understand.

Aren't you glad that was then, and every day that passes makes it even further behind you. Keep investing in your community, practicing little connections everywhere you go. Practice giving yourself the validation you'd like to hear from others. Talk to yourself. It works. It seems to me that my day to day self is the talker, and my innermost self is the listener.

In order to know your emotions, you have to find the core of what drives you. Ask yourself the question why you do what you do. Be honest to yourself and go really deep. When you understand where your current emotions are coming from and why they are there, you can get a better picture of yourself and tackle all your probelms. Being dependent of other persons around you is most of the time not good. Try to rely on yourself and help yourself first. Then try to help others.