SmoothRiverFlow Posted May 27, 2019 Group: Members Followers: 1 Topic Count: 10 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 11 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 5 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/30/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted May 27, 2019 I have depressive illness and anxiety. I often feel lonely and isolate myself most of the time. I am rather shy and often long for some kind of companionship, but am too shy and afraid and have little to no ambition to ever pursue such. Can anyone relate or having similar issues Quote Quote 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOrangeCat Posted May 27, 2019 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 57 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 1,400 Content Per Day: 0.27 Reputation: 1,823 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/24/2009 Status: Offline Share Posted May 27, 2019 Definitely. Shyness, depression, and anxiety have been with me a large chunk of my life. At some point a lot of my need to socialize largely died off and I became very comfortable with being alone, even for long stretches of time. It's definitely worth pushing against the depression and anxiety. Allowing all my friends and contacts to drift away led to some times of deepening depression. There were definitely times in life when I could have benefited from having close friends, but I didn't. It allowed bad elements in my family to do some really rotten and abusive things, and I could have crashed hard into homelessness but God kept me from that. It was still very difficult to go through alone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael37 Posted May 27, 2019 Group: Servant Followers: 21 Topic Count: 241 Topics Per Day: 0.11 Content Count: 6,932 Content Per Day: 3.27 Reputation: 4,864 Days Won: 2 Joined: 07/05/2018 Status: Online Birthday: 09/23/1954 Share Posted May 27, 2019 3 hours ago, SmoothRiverFlow said: I have depressive illness and anxiety. I often feel lonely and isolate myself most of the time. I am rather shy and often long for some kind of companionship, but am too shy and afraid and have little to no ambition to ever pursue such. Can anyone relate or having similar issues When did you first identify a pattern of loneliness in your day to day routine, SmoothRiverFlow? Even though I was born into a large family I often found myself home alone as a boy when circumstances conspired to leave me thus. On one occasion inexplicably my mother disappeared into town on the bus and left me at home sick when others were at school and my father was away for the day. I had an epic mega-migraine headache attack while she was out and being alone with this was traumatic to say the least. Fortunately these days the Lord has given me strategies to deal with being alone when my wife is away, which is more often than not during the day, and some weekends of the year when there are Scrabble tournaments to attend. I have hobbies that keep me occupied and which require me to concentrate uninterrupted so the time is well spent. Also, I have close brothers in Christ that are a phone call away if I need fellowship in person. Depressive illness, anxiety, and panic can be the result of unpleasant experiences and disturbing memories. I can be busy with some task and have these creep up on me, but I soon reject them and say, "I don't want to think about that". Instead I do what this Scripture says: Php 4:8 (8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnthebaptist Posted May 27, 2019 Group: Non-Conformist Theology Followers: 6 Topic Count: 118 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 4,361 Content Per Day: 2.31 Reputation: 2,109 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/25/2019 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/03/1953 Share Posted May 27, 2019 4 hours ago, SmoothRiverFlow said: I have depressive illness and anxiety. I often feel lonely and isolate myself most of the time. I am rather shy and often long for some kind of companionship, but am too shy and afraid and have little to no ambition to ever pursue such. Can anyone relate or having similar issues Paul taught us to pray constantly (1 Thess 5:17), so we are never alone, if that helps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiards Ball Posted May 28, 2019 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 5 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 1,502 Content Per Day: 0.66 Reputation: 662 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/05/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted May 28, 2019 18 hours ago, SmoothRiverFlow said: I have depressive illness and anxiety. I often feel lonely and isolate myself most of the time. I am rather shy and often long for some kind of companionship, but am too shy and afraid and have little to no ambition to ever pursue such. Can anyone relate or having similar issues I can not only relate, I can be a friend. Send me a PM. I can use a friend! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who me Posted May 30, 2019 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 3,299 Content Per Day: 1.72 Reputation: 1,685 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/27/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted May 30, 2019 On 27 May 2019 at 8:19 PM, SmoothRiverFlow said: I have depressive illness and anxiety. I often feel lonely and isolate myself most of the time. I am rather shy and often long for some kind of companionship, but am too shy and afraid and have little to no ambition to ever pursue such. Can anyone relate or having similar issues I am sorry that you suffer from depression and anxiety. Are you on medication for it? Have you ever been in regular attendance at a church? Is there a church near you? May I suggest you go into that chrch just as the sevice is begining and sit at the back. Durring the last hymn leave. You will have to speak to a meet& greeter as you enter. They will be pleased to see you. Do this every week and you will slowly get used to the people greeting you, handing out hymn books etc. If in a small town you will even meet some when out shopping. Build relationships slowly, see if there is anything youcan volunteer to help with. We are not meant to be alone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimiel Posted May 31, 2019 Group: Members Followers: 2 Topic Count: 1 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 50 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 55 Days Won: 0 Joined: 05/31/2019 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/01/1917 Share Posted May 31, 2019 On 5/27/2019 at 7:09 PM, Michael37 said: Depressive illness, anxiety, and panic can be the result of unpleasant experiences and disturbing memories. I can be busy with some task and have these creep up on me, but I soon reject them and say, "I don't want to think about that". Instead I do what this Scripture says: Php 4:8 (8) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. This verse is the filter that every Christian needs to apply to their thought-life. It's the one that rescued me from depression. Thank you Michael. Thanks be to God for His filter for my thoughts!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Frances Posted May 31, 2019 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 38 Topic Count: 365 Topics Per Day: 0.16 Content Count: 8,700 Content Per Day: 3.92 Reputation: 10,045 Days Won: 64 Joined: 03/27/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted May 31, 2019 Smooth..I am about 50/50 introvert extrovert on tests and I love people. But not sure that test is right. I just want to say chatting in chat room is a good way to interact with people and help during times of loneliness. We have chatted there before...It is good to be with people in the flesh also. Do u have activities that u like? Maybe join a club ..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon7777 Posted June 1, 2019 Group: Senior Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 860 Content Per Day: 0.47 Reputation: 264 Days Won: 0 Joined: 04/22/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted June 1, 2019 Shyness is a wonderful thing, like the little timid animals that can harm nobody, and when you are shy yourself, you can relate to them, and you know why God made them, because He is delicate enough to make everything so gentle and small, like Jesus had to be the Son of man, such a small way to be when He is the Lord God, riding on a donkey instead of on a throne, and it was a difficult life, which it is for anyone meek and lowly, but that is why the meek inherit the earth, they have sorrow, they feel too sensitive, but God is love, and they know Him. Psalm 138:6 Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. Psalm 69:29 But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Acts 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holychild Jesus. Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Hebrews 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Psalm 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiards Ball Posted June 26, 2019 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 5 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 1,502 Content Per Day: 0.66 Reputation: 662 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/05/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted June 26, 2019 On 5/27/2019 at 3:19 PM, SmoothRiverFlow said: I have depressive illness and anxiety. I often feel lonely and isolate myself most of the time. I am rather shy and often long for some kind of companionship, but am too shy and afraid and have little to no ambition to ever pursue such. Can anyone relate or having similar issues What kind of companionship are you struggling with? The opposite sex or making friends of the same sex? The former is solvable with difficulty, the later can be easy to solve, painless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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