They say that loneliness is becoming an epidemic. 

Being a mother, I know very well, how hard it is to see your kid feeling sad and isolation. And talk as if they have seen it all and there is nothing beautiful left in the world for to enjoy and experience. 

So, Here I have listed ways you can help your teen face or overcome loneliness. 

1.Open talk

The one thing which will work effectively is open talk with your teen. As a mother t whenever you see there is something problematic, immediately talk to your teen openly. Start from random things and come to the point slowly. This will not only strengthen your relationship with your teen but they will also feel your love and care. 

2.Engage them in different activities

Try to motivate them to spend fewer hours with their mobile phones. For this you can talk directly and can also engage them in other activities. For instance, arrange family meals or family outings to take off their attention from isolated lifestyle. Furthermore, if you’re teen has any interest like game or anything you can motivate for their interest also.

3.Build self esteem

To build a strong self-esteem you can motivate them to accept themselves. Tell them how they are unique from others. Tell them their capabilities and skills. Moreover, along this you can also narrate some inspirational stories to them.

4.Minimize social media usage

I will never recommend putting restrictions on their mobile phones or giving them orders. There is strong possibility of disobeying. However, there is another method that you can try. Simply tell them side effects of social media and also try to show them dark side of social media. Tell them about fake picture of people life style on social media. In this way they will not only do better use of social media but can also put stop on comparison of their self with others.

5.Discover themselves

Help your team to discover themselves. Help them understand what their strengths and their areas of improvement are. help them come out with what their hobbies and passions are. Give them options to explore their hobbies or introduce them to new hobbies. 

6.Make home entertaining

Make your home entertaining by having material around your home that can keep your teen engaged. It will be their favourite books Tu to material that they can use to pursue their hobbies. when these things are consciously made available in your house it is this matter of time you will find your team getting engaged in it. 

7.Get them to take care of pets

One of the effective ways to combat loneliness is when one feels that they are useful to someone else. talk you Teen into getting a pet if there I have not asked for one. if you feel that there was two do nothing for a pet like a dog or cat suggest pets like fishes or even plants. 

8.Positive self-talk

According to the National Science Foundation it is said that the average person has around 12K-60K thoughts per day. Of which 80% of the thoughts are negative. Of this 80% almost a whopping 95% of them are from the day before. Make your teen aware of these facts so that they can be conscious when they have a negative thought in their head. Teach them how to have a positive self-talk. so, they can snap themselves out of the negative spiral by having count of positive thoughts. 

9.Encourage them to do volunteer work

One of the best ways to combat loneliness is to have a healthy mix of volunteering work in your teen schedule. This will not only make them aware of the needs around them and it will also make them feel useful and purposeful when they are being of service to others or things beyond their own self and making a difference in this world. 

10.Kicks bad habits and friends

Helping to kick their bad habits if they have or if they are forming one. It can be anything from substance abuse, to social media addiction to indulging with toxic people. Pursue this aggressively as these habits when they take a grip of your teen, they tend to isolate your teen more and more. 

11.Make an action plan

Work with your team to understand what the reason could be for their loneliness. Sometimes it can be communication skills or self-esteem issues to social anxiety. Or it can just be that your teen is engaged with some other activity which is taking all the time such as being addicted to their social media or overburdened with work. Once you are able to figure out the reason for the loneliness, work with your teen to come up with an action plan on how to overcome the particular problem that your teen is facing. 

12.Coping mechanisms

Teach your teen some coping mechanisms. Teach them things to do when they are going through phases of loneliness. These coping mechanisms will be helpful for your teen to survive the periods of loneliness in a positive and progressive way and not slip into depression or have an unwanted outcome 

13.Accept and acknowledge

Accept and help your teen accept that they are going through a loneliness phase and are facing loneliness issues. Acknowledge it and empathize with your teen. When you accept the reality then this forms the stepping stone to make progression to try and overcome the issue. Show your support and be with them through with their struggle and try to overcome this place 

14.Join a self-help group or community

Try and find a self-help group that your teen can participate in. This way they realise that it is not something that they are facing alone.  It will help them when they are sharing and hearing stories from others who are facing similar issues like they do. If you are not able to help find self-help groups, community groups or community activities can also help your teen find meaning and purpose in the way they spend their time. It can also open up to possibilities of socialization with other like-minded people. 

15.Make options for your teen to meet people

Invite your teen to come with you for your socializing events. it can be events in your family or with your friends. Encourage your teen to participate in different hobbies and other extra-curricular activities which gives some extra chance to meet and socialize with new people.

Conclusion

There is no one who can help your kid better than you during difficult times. There is no one who can care your teen as you can. 

So as a mother or father it’s your responsibility to help your kids overcome loneliness. You don’t have to do it alone you can take help of trained professionals or seek support groups yourself to help you with your journey.

The bottom line is that you spot, understand and acknowledge that your teen is going through a tough phase and you reach out to help them.

God Bless!!...