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5 Tips on How to Combat Loneliness During Social Distancing

(Statepoint)

As a result of the coronavirus pan demic, many people are staying in their homes to help pre vent the spread of the disease. Feeling lone ly from time to time is natural, but this unprec edented time of social distancing could lead to increased loneliness.

There are some easy ways to feel connect ed to others, even when you aren’t seeing them in person. Consider these tips from Dr. Doug Nemecek, Cigna chief medical officer for be havioral health. • Use technology… but not too much. Social media is a favorite and easy way to stay connect ed to family and friends, but too much use can leave you feeling lone ly. Cigna’s 2020 U.S. Loneliness Index found that 72 percent of very heavy social media users identify themselves as lonely. Balance technol ogy use with disconnecting and taking time for yourself. Use real-time interactions with others, like video chats, to build meaningful connections and limit time spent pas sively scrolling social media. Read a book, take a walk or do a puzzle af ter screen time. It may help you feel more con nected when you spend time online. • Join a virtual club or group. There are plenty of resources available to find virtual book clubs,

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craft communities or even fitness challenges. You can start a new hob by, learn a skill or find others who are interest ed in the same things as you, remotely. Once the guidelines for social dis tancing are lifted, you’ll have new friends you can meet in person. • Spend time out doors. Simply leaving your house to take a jog around your neighbor hood or to walk your dog a few blocks could improve your spirits, re freshing you for the next time you virtually con nect with others. • Ask those you reach out to how they’re really doing. How you connect with those in your net work makes a significant difference in how lone ly you feel. People tend to feel less lonely when connecting on a deep er level. Cigna’s study found that those who do not feel they have close relationships that give them emotional securi ty and well-being have an average loneliness score of nearly 15 points higher than those that do. When video chatting with friends, ask them for their most honest response when you ask how they’re doing. Ev eryone will likely feel better for it. • Rethink working hours. We spend ap proximately 90,000 hours at work over our lifetime, so how we spend that time will play an important role in how we feel overall. Improving your worklife balance and con necting with colleagues can reduce loneliness. Your employer may also benefit from you feel ing less lonely. Lonely employees are less pro ductive, produce lower quality work and miss more days of work. So, talk to your boss about slight changes you can make to how you spend your working hours. This could help you feel less lonely and benefit your company.

Being unable to spend time with others in-per son will likely cause many of us to feel lone ly, but there are ways to help lessen those feel ings during this challenging time.

The compassionate funeral directors at Daniels Wilhelmina Funeral Home provide individualized funeral services designed to meet the needs of each family. Our staff of dedicated professionals is available to assist you in making funeral service arrangements. Daniels Wilhelmina Funeral Home,

Inc.

You are welcome to call us at any time of the day, any day of the week, for immediate assistance. Or, visit our funeral home in person at your convenience.

212-283-2547 Email: daniels@adwfh.com 110 West 131st Srtreet New York, NY 10027

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