{"id":8883,"date":"2026-07-06T16:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T16:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/can-loneliness-cause-depression\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T16:54:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T13:54:56","slug":"can-loneliness-cause-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/?p=8883","title":{"rendered":"Can Loneliness Cause Depression?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How to Cope With Loneliness if You Have Depression<\/h2>\n

The good news: While loneliness can be difficult to cope with on top of depression, experts have suggestions for when depressive symptoms make it harder to be social in the first place. Here are four strategies to help you stay connected with others around you.<\/p>\n

1. Consider Joining a Support Group<\/h3>\n
A support group with people who are experiencing depression or other health conditions can help you meet others who understand what you\u2019re going through.<\/p>\n

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Research backs this up. For instance, one small study showed that peer mental health support groups were helpful for men experiencing mental distress and social isolation, especially because participants had a shared understanding of each other’s experiences.<\/p>\n

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Need help finding a support group? Organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, for example, have directories of support groups you could join, whether in person or virtually. Support groups are also available for people with physical health conditions who may be more isolated because of their symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are broadly available for people with chronic illness, whether mental or physical, and have become increasingly popular for people with long COVID, one of the particularly challenging conditions of our time,\u201d Jackson says.<\/p>\n

2. Try New Social Activities<\/h3>\n
Getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new can be hard, especially if you find social interactions intimidating. But, finding a new activity that\u2019s fun for you and helps you connect with others can quell feelings of loneliness.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNot only does this allow for a joyful experience, but it also reinforces supportive social interactions,\u201d Maygren says.<\/p>\n

Maygren suggests trying these potential social activities:<\/p>\n

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  • Classes at a community center that promote interaction with others,\u00a0such as cooking or a foreign language<\/li>\n
  • Book clubs<\/li>\n
  • Exercise classes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Along with the social interaction in a class, exercise\u00a0on its own is known to lift depressive symptoms. If it feels too intimidating to do any of these alone, consider inviting a friend or family member to go with you.<\/p>\n

    3. Connect With Loved Ones<\/h3>\n

    More one-on-one social interactions might be beneficial for people experiencing both depression and loneliness, say Jackson and Maygren. \u201cConnection can be an antidote to both loneliness and depression,\u201d says Jackson.<\/p>\n

    Maygren recommends taking time to call one additional friend or family member each day who you were not planning to talk to. This way, you can practice engaging more socially with someone you already know and trust.<\/p>\n

    Video chatting may be helpful for people who aren\u2019t able to leave home as often, such as older adults. A review of 10 studies on about 1,000 older adults that included both social video calls and calls with experts trained in mental health support found that the calls had a small to medium impact on increasing social support and a small effect on lessening loneliness. Calls with family helped older adults more with loneliness, while calls with experts were more effective for depression, the researchers write.<\/p>\n

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    4. Tell Your Therapist if You\u2019re Struggling With Loneliness<\/h3>\n

    If you see a therapist or another mental health professional for depression, be open with them about how loneliness is affecting you. They can help you find ways to reduce loneliness and the impact of certain maladaptive behaviors linked to loneliness, such as social withdrawal, says Maygren.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    How to Cope With Loneliness if You Have Depression The good news: While loneliness can be difficult to cope with on top of depression, experts have suggestions for when depressive…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8980,"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8883\/revisions\/8980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellnessfirst365.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}