Loneliness is a common scenario, especially for single parents.
Parenting is challenging enough with both parents being present but single parenting can be extra hard.
Being a parent is a fulfilling experience with its highs and lows. A single parent has to carry the responsibility of parenting a child alone and sometimes life can become difficult to cope without a partner.
This doesn’t mean single parents don’t do a great job raising their children.
Single parents can sometimes be too selfless and put their children’s needs ahead of theirs. Catering to the multiple responsibilities of raising a child can leave a single parent with little energy and time to focus on themselves.
Coping with loneliness while parenting is a difficulty that single parents need to overcome as the parent’s mental and physical health will affect their children.
But all hope is not lost, there are ways for single parents to manage their lives and their children healthily.
We have compiled a list of activities that can help single parents navigate loneliness and live happier.
15 Ways to Help Single Parents Cope with Loneliness
Single parents often feel isolated from building meaningful relationships with other adults due to the lack of time and energy.
Prolonged periods of being isolated can result in negative effects on the physical and mental health of the adult. This will ultimately affect the child.
Let’s explore 15 ways to help single parents manage and cope with loneliness.
Join Social Media Support Groups
Social media support groups provide a useful way for single parents to manage their loneliness and isolation. Connecting with other single parents in the same situation can help build a sense of community for the parent.
Generally, people require interaction with other like-minded adults who can empathise and be understanding. Social media support groups can be a good source of information for single parents.
These groups often share parenting experiences, situations that single parents must go through, and other helpful information.
Supporting groups can provide a platform for single parents to voice their emotions or opinions to other parents in a similar situation.
The convenience of using social media makes these support groups easily accessible, allowing single parents to talk to someone at any time about dealing with loneliness.
Make Time for Fitness
Allocating time to exercise can help boost the body’s happy hormones. This can be a healthy way to feel good and it also helps to keep your body and mind active.
Even if you are unable to spend much of your time working out, even doing some light exercises for 10 minutes a day can make a difference.
Increasing the levels of endorphins can help the body deal with anxiety, and stress and can help to promote a positive outlook in life.
If you can make time to go outdoors to a gym or a park, there are good chances to connect with other people who are exercising.
Adopting an exercise routine can also set a good example for the children.
Sleep
Single parenting can be stressful and exhausting. Sleep deprivation due to managing the children’s needs while working can significantly affect the parent’s mental health.
Lack of sleep can increase the risk of panic attacks, anxiety, depression and loneliness. Single parents must prioritise their resting time as it impacts their physical and mental health.
A well-rested single better will be better equipped to handle difficult situations and loneliness. The brain functions better after proper rest and a person can make better decisions with clarity if they feel rested.
When the body feels rested enough, it will have the motivation to join other social activities to interact with people.
Screen Detox
Too much spent on social media and other activities related to computer and phone screens can make loneliness worse.
These temporary distractions are not solutions to coping with the loneliness a single parent might feel.
Doing a screen detox once a month can help single parents to reconnect with themselves. Taking time off social media can help single parents to refocus their emotions and stabilise feelings of loneliness.
Screen detoxes can also help improve sleep as the brain can be allowed to slowly go to a resting state at bedtime.
Scrolling social media or watching shows on the phone before bedtime can overstimulate the brain and cause sleeplessness.
Embrace Your ‘Lonely Moments’
There can be times when the single parent may find themselves in a ‘lonely moment’. This can be the time when the children are away from home for a few hours or a day.
Instead of being afraid of these moments, single parents should embrace these times when they can focus on themselves.
Focusing on realigning themselves emotionally and taking a short break from parenting during these ‘lonely moments’ can help the single parent to feel better and less lonely.
Be Honest About How You Feel
Ignoring feelings of loneliness can make the situation worse. Pent-up emotions can overflow and drastically impact the single parent’s life.
The lone parent needs to find a support system where they can speak openly about their struggles and feelings.
Being honest about feeling lonely and looking for solutions can set realistic expectations. By meeting this issue head-on, single parents can avoid burnout.
Celebrate Achievements
The single parent life can be overwhelming and busy but it’s essential to take the time to celebrate your victories. Achievements like a promotion at work or a child achieving a milestone are worth celebrating.
No matter how small the achievement, give yourself a pat on the back. It’s important to appreciate the effort you put into work and parenting.
Feelings of loneliness can be reduced when single parents learn to appreciate and not belittle their efforts to make their life better.
Deep Breathing
Sometimes, it takes a few deep breaths to calm turbulent emotions. Feeling lonely can overwhelm a person’s thinking process so breathing exercises can help to calm the mind and body.
Whenever the loneliness overwhelms you, use a deep breathing routine to calm yourself and think about what you are grateful for. It helps you to refocus and centre yourself in the present.
Take A Night Off
All parents need a break once in a while and lone parents are high on that list.
It may be hard to leave the children with a babysitter or a family member for a few hours but taking a break can do wonders for your mental and physical health.
Stepping away for some quiet time or spending time with friends can increase happiness.
Raising children by yourself is no small feat so it’s essential to treat yourself once in a while.
Try Something New
Go out of your comfort zone, and try something new!
If you feel disconnected and lonely as a single parent, trying something out of your comfort zone can bring adventure and excitement to your life. Sometimes feelings of loneliness can be due to the unchanging routine of daily life.
Going out of your comfort zone can introduce a new hobby or a friend that can elevate the loneliness.
Accomplishing something new can also help you feel a sense of accomplishment, boosting feelings of happiness.
Plan Your Week
Time management is important for a single parent as there are too many tasks to juggle daily.
A single parent may feel lonely as they can’t rely on a partner to help with parenting tasks.
Without proper time management for childcare tasks, house chores and work, the single parent can feel overworked and lonely.
As a lone parent, all parenting responsibility will fall on one person.
Proper planning and time management can help the single parent complete the necessary tasks and live a balanced life.
Eat Right
Skipping meals or eating unhealthy meals due to being busy and tired can impact physical health. Single parents might not have enough time or energy to focus on their health and wellbeing.
Eating healthy meals that provide balanced nutrition can improve a person’s overall mood and reduce feelings of anxiety. Providing the body with proper vitamins and nutrients can help with weight management and improve self-esteem.
Prioritise Self-Care
Lone parents who feel isolated should have a self-care routine to minimize loneliness.
Self-care like a spa day can help to recharge your energy and manage stress. Adequate self-care can help single parents feel better about themselves and find a balance in their life.
Self-care can improve emotional health, reducing loneliness and encouraging single parents to be happier with themselves.
Nurture Existing Relationships
A lone parent should make a conscious effort to spend time with the people they have a healthy relationship with.
Appreciating family members, friends and other relationships can instil a sense of gratefulness within the single parent.
Single parents can be too busy juggling many responsibilities, but it can be healthy to take time off to spend time with people with meaningful relationships.
It is crucial to remember that loneliness is born out of feeling uncared for.
Making an effort to maintain existing connections can help the single parent feel cared for.
Seek Help
It can be difficult to acknowledge that you need help managing feelings of loneliness.
Seeking help from medical professionals is a good choice for lone parents who feel nothing is helping their emotions.
Being in a negative mental state can affect more than just the parent’s emotions and mental state.
Be honest, open to healing and work towards feeling better with proper help from the appropriate people.
Look Forward to the Future
Being able to manage loneliness successfully can have a fantastic impact on a single parent’s life.
The sense of feeling wanted and cared about by other adults can improve a lonely person’s mental health.
Single parents should try to tackle the issue of feeling lonely head-on, ignoring such feelings can be damaging.
Once a routine can be established and priorities rearranged in the single parent’s life, they can find a renewed sense of belonging and purpose.
This can positively impact the whole family, with both parents and children finding happiness.
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