First allow me to say Happy Birthday!! and welcome all new comers to ECF.
I thought I'd throw in my own two cents here, simply because no one so far has really covered any aspects that involve certain elements I may share.
First off, I know the concept of loneliness all to well myself. I try not to bring this up online much, it's more often than not highly misunderstood. That being that I suffer from psychopathy. I'm forced to live at home with a family member (who avoids me and doesn't help at all with the loneliness problem), and I take quite the cornucopia of medications that cause anything from weight gain and hair loss to my hands shaking uncontrollably (which is why I can't rebuild my own coils for my Aerotank Mega or my Nautilus...LOL) . Regardless, I suffered for years before my actual diagnosis, and upon my diagnosis, I was abandoned by many friends and family members out of fear, the graphics design company I was working at kept purposely making my job more difficult forcing me to leave, my girlfriend dumped me, and I lost my car and apartment.
I now live in the middle of nowhere, with no friends to rely on and no women willing to even consider dating me, so as I said, I definitely know the concept of being alone like you're experiencing.
Another aspect that has yet to be covered in this thread is my next point... and PLEASE ... just hear me out completely before jumping to any conclusions about me, my fellow vapers.. I'm also an atheist. That being said, I am NOT the type to go around bashing religion, ridiculing others for their beliefs, telling them they are wrong, or trying to instill my PERSONAL beliefs onto others... So the majority of you, who seem religious, have absolutely nothing to fear from me.
I simply bring it up because it means I can't personally look at life as though a deity is with me or watching over me. Nor can I talk to or pray to said deity. To be perfectly honest, a lot of times I wish I had the faith you Christians have. I'm often envious of that aspect of your lives. I'm simply not capable of having such faith. I've tried and it's just not there for me.
All of this said, it leaves my available remedies for loneliness extremely limited, and I've had to find my own methods, which I wanted to share with you in hopes they may prove helpful..,
The first, you obviously already have covered, which is a pet. I'm personally allergic to cats and dogs so I had an oversized "dumbo" pet rat named Dexter. They actually make wonderful companions and are VERY smart and intuitive. You may also consider getting some indoor plants to take care of.
Some other things to try, several have suggested a journal. This is a good suggestion, though I write mine in the form of blogging. The two other things I find useful, the first of which is Twitter. I don't really mind twitter, it's fairly anonymous and rather cut and dry, so to speak. The other, however, is Facebook, which I do NOT condone. The site feeds off of constantly invading your privacy. So I post no images of myself, no real useable information about myself, etc.. I'm simply on there because the few remaining friends and family members I have left are on there, and it provides me with a way of staying in touch with them constantly. Because thanks to my psychosis, I'm quite the recluse, rarely leaving the house due to the fact that being around people and society in general really tests my patience, not a good thing for someone with my illness...lol. So those two, in short, try social media. Facebook CAN be very useful. I follow a lot of pages regarding
vaping, a lot of which I share to my timeline and write my own thoughts in the matter , etc.,. I also spend HOURS each day browsing ECF using Tapatalk on my phone .. I really enjoy being a member of this site. The people are great and always very helpful. I even enjoy helping others so much in here that I'm considering starting my own YouTube channel about vaping. I don't have the knowledge or experience that YouTubers like PBusardo, GrimmGreen, Riptrippers, etc.. have, nor can I afford all the hardware they have for reviewing products, but I could definitely make some videos for people new to vaping or thinking about trying vaping. But that's still up in the air....
Now........ Like I always tell my mother, who is a VERY active Christian, I'm not going to pray for you. In my mind, a person with no faith praying is exactly like a person with my illness saying, "I love you.".... they're simply empty words with no real backing behind them. I can AND will say however, you ARE in my thoughts as well as my best wishes, and I truly hope things start getting better for you.
