Loneliness and shift work

[AndrewP83]

I've had a long running battle with loneliness and when it gets bad it in turn triggers my anxiety and depression, its gotten worse with shift work as I tend to find my social life is null due to the hours I work making it difficult to engage social functions or outings, so I then in turn find myself constantly going out on my own and the whole loneliness factor kicks in as it feels like ground hog day every time I go out, does anyone have any tips on how to cope or work through this as its feeling like a right struggle as of late.

[blondguy]

Hello AndrewP83

Welcome to the forums and good on you for having the strength to post too!

I understand you about groundhog day (not just the movie...the going out) I know when I was in my 30's I was career dedicated and had the same situation happening.

As you already know shift work can be a pain where loneliness is concerned...not to mention how empty our life can feel as well...I really feel for you on this one Andrew

Since there is no such question as a dumb one on the forums...Can I ask you if you have even a small peer group that you can be with (even one or two people?)

you are not alone here Andrew....I hope you can post back when convenient for you 🙂

my kind thoughts

Paul

[PamelaR]

Hello AndrewP83 and welcome to Beyond Blue forums

It’s good you’ve found your way to our community of caring, friendly, supportive and non judgmental people. Some may have experienced or are experiencing similar situations as yourself. So you’re not alone.

While anxiety and depression are debilitating at times, they are manageable. I too get bouts of anxiety and depression. These are generally brought on by a trigger associated with childhood trauma.

You talk about a long running battle with loneliness which can trigger you, especially when you doing shift work.
What’s the feasibility of changing from the shift work to more standard hours for a time? Could you negotiate such an arrangement with your employer by explaining you are not well (maybe get a letter from a doctor or other health professional?) and need time to recover?
What sorts of things do you do to manage the anxiety and depression? If you’re interested, there are a number of good threads, one in particular - TIPS FOR MANAGING ANXIETY. It can be found by going to the BB search field and entering the thread title.
Kind regards
PamelaR

[AndrewP83]

To be honest I don't unless its online but that's wearing thin as well, I've been trying to seek social outlets through other avenues such as sporting groups and community groups, I've kinda given up on socialising as most the time everyone's either too busy, not available or I'm at work.

[AndrewP83]

I've done Monday to Friday work as well and the loneliness battle was there regardless, been focusing on trying to put a positive spin on it and change my mindset towards it but it's proving a bigger challenge now than ever hence I'm trying to find my proactive ways to get out and be social

[Doolhof]

Hi AndrewP83,

Both my husband and I were shift workers, me for 10 years and my husband for 30 years. It was not always easy catching up with people, sometimes we had to be a little persistent and work out dates and times.

Yes, I do have a partner so I am not alone, but there were years when I was alone. Sometimes even with a partner a person can feel very much alone.

We moved to a different area 5 years ago. I have become involved in volunteer work of various kinds. We joined a sporting group as well and met people there.

Sometimes close bonds are not formed, so socialising and just being with people can be important.

Are there people at your place of work who might be able to join you in some activity after work?

Shift work can be difficult to work around. Hopefully you can be creative in finding ways to be with people.

Cheers from Dools