Summer means vacation and a lot of wonderful things – but not for everyone. It can also be a lonely time when the daily routine with colleagues disappears.
There may be several reasons why people feel isolated during the summer. Maybe they have more social connections with work and colleagues, but less socializing in the form of friends and family in their daily lives.
Then it can become very painful. Especially when you see everyone having fun on vacation and it becomes clear that you may not have many people to socialize with, says Anette Utterbäck, who is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and author.
Breaking loneliness
Daring to take the leap and meet new people is not always easy, and it can be difficult to know how to break loneliness.
The problem doesn't have to be that you're not brave enough, but it can actually be that you try and stretch out a hand without getting one back.
About 700,000 people in Sweden lack a close friend, according to figures from SCB. According to the statistics, it is more common among men than women.
Anette Utterbäck explains that in some cases, loneliness can be about understanding oneself better and how one acts in relationships with other people. Trying to build relationships as best one can is important.
It doesn't have to be many, but that you have a network around you and see it as important and not something you forget about during the winter when you're busy.
It can also help to first accept a situation you want to change. From acceptance, it becomes easier to find strategies for how to break your own isolation, even in the long term, according to Anette Utterbäck.
It can be anything from daring to take the leap, to reading a self-help book or going to therapy. There are different steps that may be needed for different people.
Requires courage
Christian Altenius started the non-profit activity site Citypolarna after moving and losing his social network.
I wasn't quite prepared for how difficult it would be to find friends as an adult and felt really bad about it, he says.
Citypolarna is an online forum where members invite each other to different types of activities. It can be anything from running rounds to finding someone to go to a museum or concert with. Christian Altenius' best tip is to dare.
Courage. That's what it takes. It's scary to take the leap and do something completely new with new people, but in this context, everyone is in the same situation and it's often easier than you think.
