Loneliness. What a tough thing to beat. I've gotten to the point where I don't like being alone, even for a few minutes. If I do, I start to get really anxious and almost scared. I keep trying to tell myself that it's just my anxiety telling me that I need to call someone and have them come over, but it's hard to ignore. I wanted to let all of you know that there is hope and there are ways to deal, but you have to give yourself time and not be afraid to push your limits.

I have found, the more time you spend alone, the easier it becomes. And, it won't just happen overnight. When you get the urge to call someone or invite someone over, stay positive. Don't beat yourself up. It's okay to want to do that, but it's actually giving in that would be taking a step back. Of course, I'm not in any way saying that giving in once in a while is a bad thing, but it's not healthy to be scared of being alone. It's such an empowering feeling to know that you made it all day completely alone and that everything went okay.

Try reading a book. Watching tv. Singing. Dancing. Whatever it is that makes you happy. It really doesn't matter what you do to be honest. You know yourself best and you'll know when you're making progress.

For me, it is extremely helpful to have pets. Taking my dogs for a walk really calms me down and I'm not sure if it's cheating, but I don't feel alone when I'm with them. It's nice to know that they're protecting me. I'm not sure why, but I've alway been scared of someone breaking in to my house or there being a fire. It really doesn't make too much sense, because I've never had anyone break in before and I've never been near a fire. When I start worrying about those kinds of things, instead of telling myself it would never happen-I say 'that could happen, but how likely is that?' That way I'm not shutting myself down by saying to myself subconsciously that my thoughts don't make any sense. All of your thoughts make sense. All your body is trying to do is protect you, but sometimes it can go a little over-board and that's when these feelings may go crazy.

Tags & Keywords : lonely, loneliness, lost, alone, scared, anxiety