What do I like to do, what can I find some happiness in?  I started initially with trying to find something that I could do on my own, you may think this may make me feel more lonely but for me cooking food and just trying out different recipes helped me find something that I really enjoyed doing, it also provided a platform for me to be able to allow myself to become a little bit more social by sharing that food with others, which is an enjoyable experience, especially when you cook something that is tasty but even the disasters are a good experience. 

Voluntary Work 

What if I don’t have family that I can turn to or friends and feel like I am completely isolated?  For myself I decided to do some voluntary work, again whilst this initially made me feel nervous, anxious, and uncomfortable it did after a period of time help me to become at that time more involved in my community which helped me become a bit more sociable. 

Keep a journal 

For me, this really helped me to see why I felt the way I did, why I isolated myself, this then helped me to cut out bad energy in my life, really look at myself and try to change for the better.  It also helped me to deal with my feelings in the absence of having anyone to talk to. 

Set yourself Goals 

Even if these are small goals such as looking for things you could try and do it help, remember not to beat yourself up if you don’t strictly achieve the goal straight away, you can keep trying! Often people would suggest setting SMART targets 

Get involved in events 

If you can’t go out like when COVID hit, lots of online groups sprouted out, this could be gaming, it could be interests, it could be walking groups etc… the point is, it might be really hard at first and sometimes it might not be the right group for you, but you can keep trying. 

Your mind 

For me my mind can be my own worst enemy, learning to find the positives can be difficult but with some self-reading, meditation, reflection and really trying to think hard about positive experiences, you can re-enforce these.  I put post it notes all around my flat to remember good, positive, encouraging things that had happened so that every time I felt negative about myself, I could counteract that with a positive.  

Get Professional Help 

Don’t be afraid to speak to a doctor or a councillor if you need to, sometimes we all need help and never be afraid to seek that out.  Likewise, if you have good friends or manage to find some good friends talk to them, yes, they may not understand because they have not been in the position, circumstances that you have but you never know you may find connections you didn’t know were there before. If you’re anxious when talking to someone in person or maybe can’t afford therapy, you may find mental health apps more beneficial there are all sorts out there like Calm, Talkspace and BetterHelp 

Positive Affirmations 

Remember that you are worthwhile and whilst it might be hard it’s a blip in time and you can take charge of your life, you can make a difference not only to yourself but to others, you just need to do it in your own time, and it will get better. Some positive affirmations you could try: 

Live in the now 

Stop living in the past…. Accept what is, let go of what was and try to live in the now and look forward to what you can achieve if you only allow yourself to believe that you can!