So Christmas and New Year are over again and life returns to the routine humdrum. For most of us we've had time to unwind and spend time with family and friends.
Sadly, however, many people across the province will have spent the holidays alone. No family anymore, or estranged. No friends who are thinking of them or making them feel loved. This time of year is a painful reminder for these people of their isolation, that their life is not as it once was or as they would like it to be.
More than a quarter of adults in Northern Ireland (28%) have felt lonely some or all of the time over the previous month
One-third of adults in Northern Ireland (33%) feel ashamed about being lonely
Almost half of adults in Northern Ireland (45%) say they would never admit to feeling lonely
More than one-third of adults in Northern Ireland (37%) said feelings of loneliness have made them feel worried or anxious
As we go into 2025, perhaps one of your new year's resolutions could be to make sure that all of your family and friends know how much they mean to you. That you do not take them for granted. And maybe take some time just to appreciate the meaning and peace that they bring to your life.
Secondly, perhaps you could make a resolution to think of people near you who you know live alone. People who maybe appear have much social life. Maybe you could become a friend in their need. The statistic that 45% of people would never admit to feeling lonely is so sad. In this province we still have massive stigma around loneliness and depression, no matter how much we claim the contrary. Anyone who is alone and isolated must clearly be that way because there is something wrong with them, or they deserve it due to treating others badly, we assume.
The reality is that bad luck (friends moving away, family dying, job loss) can lead to isolation for people through no fault of their own. Once in this situation it can become difficult to escape. The standard advice that I've seen posted here for such people is to simply "join a club" or "sit at a bar and ask someone to be your friend, as if it's all so simple and formulaic. Some people have tried and naturally it just comes across as exactly what it is: desperate.
So think on someone you know is alone right now. They have no family. Friends never come or go from their house. You know that right now on a Saturday night, they're sitting alone in their living room, unloved, watching TV by themselves. Why don't you invite them to come and watch TV in your living room tonight instead.
by RoyalMistake00
2 comments
I think percentages don’t really do statistics justice at times
33% of the population (1.9M as of 2021) is nearly 700,000 people feeling ashamed about being lonely
That’s more than twice as big as the population of the largest city Belfast (348,000 as of 2022) in Northern Ireland
If you are one of those 700,000 you are not alone
90% of people who identify as lonely are no longer lonely after a wank
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