I feel like isolating myself, but deep inside I am very lonely. What do I do?

Take small steps for socializing. Online chat rooms, multiplayer games, etc. allow you to be social but control your interaction level. Many games will allow you to chat via voice. I've been in some great MMORPG groups where we cut up, telling jokes, having a good time for hours while playing together. Sometimes, I would log in just to talk to my friends and not even play.

When I've felt this way, I first accepted the way I was feeling. I let myself experience the loneliness, let myself isolate for as long as I needed to. I really looked at my thoughts and my feelings through journaling and reflection. When I was ready, I asked myself what activities would make me feel better--even if it was just a little bit better--and what level of connection with others would I be open to. Even if being around others meant going to a coffee shop, and sitting by myself while other people sat at their own tables, I would go out and give it a try. I'd keep going in this way, making one step at a time. Next, I might send a text to my mom or a close friend. If things got much worse, I might consider counseling. I just kept observing what I felt and taking steps based on that.

Ouch, I get what you mean. When I started suffering from depression, I did that for years. 7 Cups is a great place to start. I've found that talking to strangers about what you're going through is much easier than talking to people you personally know. We have forums here where you can connect with people as well. As for in-person, real life interactions, start off slow. Challenge yourself to talk to someone in person for 5 minutes, then 15, and so on, or tell them about your day, then your thoughts, then your feelings, etc. Feelings can seem overpowering, but I promise you can get through this -- so long as you try (and try again). This lonely loner heart's rooting for you. Best wishes.

I think that although isolating your self my seem like a good idea at the time, I do believe that have a talk about how you feel with people is very important, I'm not sure why you feel like you need to isolate yourself but talking to somebody that you trust could really help in how your feeling. I used to isolating myself a lot and when I started to talk about how I feel with somebody I saw my feelings from a different view and was able to over come them and become a much stronger and better person, and nobody is alone a lot of people really do care, they really do. I hope that's helpful for you.

People sometimes isolate themselves from the world because they find peace in that. It sometimes can be hard because once we isolate ourselves people tend to take us as someone with attitude who just doesn't care about other people but that's not the truth. We get hurt and that's why we take this step. After a while when we feel like we need someone to talk to we don't find anyone by our side and that is the thing which makes us feel lonely. The right person will know you and they will give you your space whenever you need it and also be there for you when you will ask them to be. Be patient and everything will fall in its place.

Don't isolate yourself.. try this.. you can always isolate yourself anytime you want.. that is actually your call... so try doing something different.. try meeting new people or going into existing group of people.. surrounding yourself with different age groups. .. tastes, basically move outside your comfort zone. . And if it didn't work out you can always go back to your original plan of isolating yourself...

I will force myself to get out more and interact instead of staying cooped up at home, away from people. Even if it's just a simple trip to the grocery store or going out to meet a friend, always ended up with me feeling at least slightly better and less lonely. Rinse and repeat until the sensation no longer feels overwhelming.

Find one person who you can learn to connect with. Whether it be a sibling, parent, partner or friend, you'll know someone has your back. Therefore, even if you isolate yourself, you won't feel lonely and you will have someone to drag you back out of the abyss when you look like a mess and haven't showered in a week

No one deserves isolation. It may feel like people will be better off without you around, but I promise you that is not the case. You are loved, even if you can't see it. I suggest, if you feel like you have no one, talk to anyone. Just a small simple conversation about anything can help you feel a bit better.

Just because you don't have an immediate connection with the people around you now doesn't mean you won't in the future. Open up to the people you can trust, but besides that don't feel bad for not being a "social butterfly."