It stopped being the am quite a while ago, but you’re still in bed; replaying a Cat Vine with one hand and cramming hobnobs in to your mouth with the other. Sundays are properly rubbish when you’re feeling lonely, aren’t they?
Well, for anyone out there in need of a bit of a pick-me-up, here are five Ted Talks that between them aim to help us understand our loneliness, and give advice on how we can stop feeling so isolated.
Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?
Psychologist Sherry says we use social media to constantly seek validation from others, rather than allowing ourselves to be alone. Hey, you, reading this through a bombardment of WhatsApp notifications- she has a point doesn’t she? Sherry reckons we need to find peace with being alone, before we can start meaningful relationships. So step away from your phone and actually talk to an actual person. After you’ve watched her TED Talk, though.
Giulia Rozzi- Healing loneliness with laughter
Comedian Giulia gives this really funny talk to a way under-appreciative audience (prepare for some awkward post-joke silences.) In it, she shares her own story of dealing with loneliness and encourages other people to do the same. ‘Share your truth and try to laugh at it, because I guarantee, somebody else needs to laugh at it with you,’ she says. Anyone up for a mega-long chat?
Jasmina Najarr- On living the single life
This one’s for all the single girls gazing longingly at an Instagram feed littered with couple selfies. Author Jasmina makes the very valid point that we don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy, and screw anyone telling us otherwise.
‘True happiness is found in ourselves, not others,’ she says. YEP, we are feeling that. Jasmina also has the perfect audio book voice, which is both soothing and annoying in equal measure.
Nick Vujucic: Overcoming hopelessness
This one’s in the mix to offer a healthy dose of perspective. You’ll see for yourself, but motivational speaker Nick has been through what can only be describes as some absolute shit, and suddenly our lonely Sunday doesn’t seem quite as bad. Whatever your views on religion and sex before marriage are (Nick discusses both in this video), we’re sure you’ll find this talk seriously motivating.
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Picture: Eugenia Loli
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.