Has anyone isolated themselves from friends/family? (pre COVID) How do you get back into life?

[FleabagsGuineaPig]

I imposed a sort of lockdown on myself, no socialising, only occasionally seeing family. I think I was depressed. I feel like I’ve wasted my 20s, no travel or fun experiences. How do I get back out there? Post lockdown obviously.

Bump.

Didn’t want to read and run, I don’t have much experience of this but certainly go through periods of isolation. I hope your depression is resolving, or you’re getting treatment for it.

One of the key things to getting back out there is liking yourself. If you can do that, it will be easier to have fun with other people. I do t know how much you’ve isolated yourself, but start small - like sitting in a cafe people watching (when we’re able to again!). Do things that aren’t too scary to you, maybe a short walk with a friend. It might be exhausting at first, but that’s ok, you don’t need to do everything overnight! Just take things at your own pace and be kind to yourself.

I’ve found group holidays (E.g. Explore or intrepid) a good way to travel if you don’t have anyone to travel with. But you might need to build up to spending a week away with strangers! I didn’t travel much until my 30s, but have made up for it since. It’s never too late to start living your life.

Be kind to yourself op

So this is a case of rekindling contact after how long and was there any communication? You just start. Call, text. Whatever.

I think when you feel like this it's easy to overthink things, and feel like you need a strategy, or that you need to feel "ready" before you can get out there again. In my experience you have to make yourself do things first, and the act of doing new activities then starts to create the feeling of enjoyment. If you wait til you "want" to go and meet new people, or until you feel up to it, it's unlikely to happen. I find the first few times engaging in a new experience involves just getting through it rather than actually enjoying it! But after that your confidence builds and you start to feel genuine pleasure rather than nerves.

Exercise is great for making you feel mentally strong and powerful too - if you don't already, exercising each morning (even if just a brisk walk) makes you feel really well and like you can take on new challenges. Good luck