Hihi
Has anyone had any success in mitigating/combating loneliness with online communities or friends?
I am stuck in an awful part of the US where community was already nonexistent, now with covid doing any actual activity with other people in public is not an option.
In the past this has sent me into severe depressive spirals and, while it isn’t that bad currently, it is something i’d like to change.
but it seems like most people have migrated to reddit (which i dont like), discord (which i dont really get), and maybe a few random forums on the internet (which i dont know about).
So like is this doable/feasible? or is there no realistic option besides finding a coping mechanism?
i learned the hard way that social media, alone, is a VERY poor remedy for loneliness.
i never socialized much even before covid because my autism made human relationships difficult to create and maintain. i got along A LOT better with animals; so i’ve had many pets instead.
i make social media work for me by using it as a socialization supplement along with frequent-ish short bursts of ultra intense social exchanges irl thanks to who and what i am; unless you’re like me, this specific remedy isn’t going to work for you, so you’ll likely need more. i share this here as a response to your quandry and show that success with social media is indeed possible and also to make you aware that using online communities can work as a supplement at most; instead of a main means of socialization.
it might work if you can figure out how to cobble enough supplements together to make up for your loneliness, like i did; online communities alone is not likely to work and is only one piece of the puzzle that you need to figure out for yourself.
This used to be my mindset but it’s not really possible anymore because of covid and life just getting in the way of everyone.
I want to try and cast a wide net so to speak and be apart of multiple communities but i don’t really know how to enter just one to begin with.
at the zenith of my loneliness, i started doing any and every social gathering i could find, whether or not i had any interest or felt comfortable joining.
i was rejected by almost all of them and didn’t like most of the rest, but i found the few that been working for me along with online spaces.