TeenConnect: Trending May 25, 2020 Issue

What to do if you’re feeling lonely

Lizzie Witney

Originally appeared online in the teen series: Trending - March 31, 2020

I’m not sure how much more I can take. It had been almost a week since I’d seen anyone, and the isolation was really starting to get to me. Worse, because I work alone from home and my friends live too far away for me to see them on weeknights, this state of things was my “normal.” When I’d start to think about the days and months ahead, filled with more hours alone, I was overwhelmed with dread and anxiety.

It felt like a life of isolation was mapped out ahead of me, and I couldn’t see a way out. But one day, as I was grappling with these feelings, I had a realization. While all the things that companionship represents—love, joy, union, support—seem to come from people, they really come right from God. This realization was based on what I’d learned from reading the Bible: that “God is love” (I John 4:8). From studying Christian Science, I’d also learned that Love, God, is infinite—the source of all real love. So while each of us does express love, this love isn’t sourced in us or our friends and family, but in God. Love actually transcends time and space and any other limitations—like whether or not we’re with people who care about us.

Knowing that good comes from God and isn’t limited to my interactions with others brought me the most relief I’d felt in a long time. I was starting to see some light in what had felt like a very dark situation. It also occurred to me that since God is always present, love, joy, support, and so on must also always be present. These qualities were built into my experience, and so they’d always been with me, and always would be.

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