We’ve compiled a list of helpful assistive apps that may offer you just some of the tools and resources you need if you’re feeling lonely or having a hard time.
Loneliness can be a normal and healthy emotion, but it can lead to negative consequences when it becomes excessive or prolonged. Loneliness is a subjective feeling. It can’t be measured objectively. A person who feels lonely may not experience it the same way as someone else.
We all feel lonely at times.
People from all walks of life often feel lonely regardless of their relationship status, including singles, couples, parents, and older people. At the same time, it is essential to remember that loneliness is not necessarily bad. It can be an indicator of mental health problems, but if you are feeling lonely because you are in a good relationship with your partner or friends, then there’s no need for alarm.
Feeling lonely is a very personal experience.
We have taken a firsthand look at how loneliness is a personal experience, where finding solutions to relieve the pain is just as unique as regulating our diet and exercise routines. But things are changing. In the past decade, a series of studies have shown that loneliness is not just an emotional state or a psychological trait but also a physiological one.
Loneliness can manifest in various ways, but some common symptoms include persistent sadness, loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and excessive worrying or feelings of dread. You may withdraw socially, avoiding interacting even with close friends and family. Your sleep and appetite may suffer. You’ll likely feel fatigued more often, sapped of motivation to handle daily tasks and obligations.
In more severe cases of prolonged isolation, one’s sense of self-worth erodes, sometimes spurring irrational self-criticism or doubt in one’s abilities. Loneliness stresses the mind and body, amplifying perceptions that no one cares or that you’re undeserving of companionship. This toxic brew can fuel anxiety and depression. Without intervention, destructive ideation can take hold, putting lonely individuals at greater risk for substance abuse and even self-harm in acute scenarios.
Symptoms of loneliness
You are feeling down, not interested in activities you used to enjoy, withdrawing from friends and family, feeling like you’re a burden to others, and feeling isolated. If you feel down and depressed, then it’s essential to seek help. It might be that you’re just tired or need a break, but if you’re feeling sad for more than two weeks, it’s time to get professional help.
Negative effects of loneliness
Increased stress levels, decreased physical health, increased anxiety and depression symptoms, and increased risk of suicide. The HPA axis is the main target of stress, and its dysregulation is a cause of many severe mental disorders. Studies have shown that the HPA axis is involved in the pathophysiology of anxiety and depression and also contributes to age-related cognitive decline.
How to take a break from loneliness
Download and use one or more apps to connect with others and combat loneliness.
Helpful Apps For Times When You Are Feeling Lonely
Here, we give a link for each app where you can get more help and follow links to downloads. Some are mobile apps to download, and others are web-based or subscription-based.
1. TalkLife
Whether you want someone to talk to or need someone, TalkLife listeners fully understand what it means to undergo tough times.
2. Replika
Replika created personal cognitive AI to help you share your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, memories, dreams, and perceptual world in a safe environment.
3. Panion
Panion is a community networking platform centered around shared passions that lets you meet others who share your interests. Whether you’ve moved to a new city, are traveling alone, have chosen a new hobby, or want to make a new acquaintance, Panion provides a place to interact, talk, and make new friends.
4. Happy
Happy is there to give you support whenever you need it. Some moments are life-changing, such as becoming a parent, moving to a new city, or losing a loved one. Others are simply a part of everyday life – feeling discouraged at work, frustrated with a spouse, or merely feeling self-critical.
5. Talkspace
Talkspace uses technology to make therapy available and affordable for everyone to provide accessible treatment to those in need. They aim to enable more people to have a good life without pain and stress.
6. Predictable
This program was created for people who are literate but have lost the ability to speak. Due to cerebral palsy, motor neuron disease, larynx surgery, stroke, apraxia, or brain injury, you will not be able to talk about anything. Start your entry by clicking Predictable, which will read your desired words. It provides a voice to those who do not have one.
7. Mindings
Minding is a private social network with a messaging service and a telehealth system. You must write to them, and the network offers a place for socially and tech-shy individuals to recount with their friends and family.
8. Tastebuds
A change of scene is only as enjoyable as meeting new people. They discovered how music brings people together when moving to a new city or looking for a new social life. Tastebuds connects you with people nearby who share your links to music. It would help if you only transferred your favorite songs and links to make new friends.
9. PartyWith
Whether on a trip or studying abroad, PartyWith (formerly Known As ) is an app that connects you with patrons who want to party. Learn more by clicking and earning money, making friends at festivals, visiting nearby nightclubs, and attending local nightlife experiences.
10. Happier
Happier is an app you’re encouraged to utilize to enhance your sense of gratitude and find more joy and beauty in your ordinary, everyday moments. The more you use Happier, the more you are likely to refine your presence and positivity throughout the day. The app contains:
- An on-the-spot gratitude journal.
- Bite-sized courses.
- An online support group that will help you boost your happiness daily.
They call it a sketchbook in your pocket.
11. Color Switch
An innovative task-based activity that demands commitment and focus to achieve, it can offer you a distraction when you’re feeling lonely due to its lure. With 200 million downloads so far, the Color Switch game was one of the most downloaded apps on the iOS platform and was a top 20 game in over a hundred nations.
12. Hey! VINA
The app Hey! Vina is a social network for women. Vina can help you take a risk in a new place, discover a new love, or meet your next boss. The app serves as a social media platform for women, aiding them in taking their first steps into unfamiliar circumstances.
13. Remarkable Lives
Remarkable Lives, a private social network, is coming soon. It will be a site for sharing memories with those you hold dearest and celebrating the lives of older people.
14. Peanut
Peanut is an application designed for mothers. Many women can connect and share their experiences with mamas like you, regardless of location or time zone, and it will only continue to get better. You get to know each other, form friendships, and team up for shared events.
15. Happify
Happify is an online company that provides technology that increases your aptitude to improve self-consciousness and alter how you feel and think. Their programs, derived empirically from the results of thousands of therapy sessions conducted over the last few decades, were created by qualified experts specializing in positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Conclusion
Loneliness is a common problem, but there are ways to combat it. Try using one or more of the apps recommended here.
Feeling lonely can be an agonizing and isolating experience. Whether due to a move, job change, breakup or other transition, we all face periods of feeling disconnected. Prolonged loneliness takes a real toll both mentally and physically. Luckily, we live in an age where help is just a tap away on our phones.
A wealth of apps now exist to combat loneliness, providing venues to connect with kindred spirits. Through forging new friendships, joining support groups or even playing games as a distraction, these apps offer lifelines when one feels uncared for. While they can’t replace real human relationships, they facilitate taking that crucial first step toward combating solitude’s negative effects.
If you are facing sustained loneliness, I encourage trying one of the apps mentioned here as an emotional salve and tool for rebuilding bonds. We all need community and a sense of belonging. Whether as a stopgap or ongoing aid, these apps create space for laughing, sharing struggles or celebrating milestones with a circle of acquaintances evolving organically into confidants. Let technology buoy you until loneliness subsides and you feel anchored firmly to meaningful human bonds once again.
