How many people in the world are feeling alone?
How many people are struggling with some sort of mental health issue right now?

Perhaps you have someone close to you or maybe you have found yourself trying to navigate the challenges of worry, anxiety, depression or feelings of loneliness?

Regardless of what is currently occurring in your life, you are not alone and there are pragmatic ways to overcome thoughts and feelings of stress and loneliness.

If the concern of being alone was no longer an issue for you, what else would be possible?

What might you discover about you and about life that would take you beyond fighting to survive to actually thriving in all areas of your life?

If this is of interest to you, here are my top 3 tips.

1. Play in a bigger playground

During times of loneliness or worry and anxiety many people go into controlling their lives to make sure everything is in order and things are not falling apart.

When you control, are you relaxing or are you adding to the stress you are already having?

What can you do instead? Add possibilities! Start to ask, “What can I add to my life? What energies? People? Projects? Fun things?”

When you are playing in a playground that is far too small for you, you are not fulfilled.

On the other hand, when you begin to live your life asking, “What can I add?” and you go after those things whatever they are, loneliness goes away and you play in the bigger playground of possibilities.

2. Put that thought down!

Have you ever wondered what makes you even have the thought and the feeling of “I am alone” or “ I am afraid.”? Where does this come from?

Did you know that 98% of the thoughts, feelings and emotions you have are not yours? You are highly aware of everyone and everything around you.

The next time you think, “I am alone” ask this question, “Who does this belong to?” If you feel lighter when you ask this question it is because that thought was never yours to begin with, so put it down!

You don’t have to know who it belongs to, simply put it down by acknowledging it does not belong to you. How aware are you of so many other people having that very thought in their head?

3. You are a gift!

Have you ever had an intuition, or what I like to call “a knowing” of how something was going to turn out, only to discover that you were correct?

Have you ever had a sense that something was going to turn out poorly if you made a particular choice but you made it anyway?

You were born into the world with an ability to perceive and know. This is called awareness and it is one of the greatest gifts you have.

Consider the planet for a moment. How much intensity, suffering, insanity, worry, anxiety and depression is up in the world right now?

I am not asking about how many people you personally know with these issues. I am asking how aware you are of these things around the world. Awareness goes beyond the people you know personally. It includes everyone and everything.

What if you simply acknowledged that you are aware?
What if you recognized that there is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the world and that being aware of it does not mean you have to fix it or change it?

What if you could see the ugly reality that much of the world is choosing, not fight against it, not agree with it, rather ask, “What can I choose and what can I change to not be at the effect of this?”

When you see and acknowledge what is, without judging it as bad or wrong, you see possibilities you could not see before.
Wherever you are in your life right now, other possibilities exist.

Recognize that just because you have the thought, “I am alone” does not mean that is reality. Acknowledge that you are aware of what is occurring in the world.

Let go of the thoughts and feelings that are not yours.
Add things to your life that inspire and bring you joy.
You are a gift. You have value.

When you know this, you can begin to soar!

Susanna Mittermaier