It’s hard not to feel paranoid. It’s hard not to feel like everyone’s staring at the layers underneath your skin. Missed calls accumulate, you begin to feel like people are purposefully ignoring you, and your inbox seems deader than a Mayan civilization. 

That feeling in the pit of your stomach? The one that feels like it’s wrenching somewhere deep between your heart and your brain? That’s the sadness talking. You may feel abnormal, you may feel like the entire world is this sunny space—everything except for you. But please let me tell you that it’s normal. 

A lot of people treat negative emotions as something that need to be stamped out as quickly as possible. Unhappiness, or the inability to feel bright and sparkly when you should, is something that we hand out quick fixes for, all too liberally. We feel like there should always be a friend to call, or an engagement to attend, or that we should always be la-la-la-la loved, because that’s what television and movies promise us. The company line is that you’re supposed to have your rag tag crew who will put up with you no matter what, for ever and ever and ever. 

It might be you, it might be them, but everyone has a limit for what they can take, and for whatever reason, you might find yourself feeling isolated from your tribe.

There’s no one set way  to deal with it.  It’s probably best if you don’t explode on people, even though you may want to. But don’t just box your negative feelings away. Talk to a pet, your diary, or even your parents, because they may just understand exactly where you’re coming from. 

Try something new. A hobby, a sport, a new restaurant (yes, you can go to restaurants alone!), or even a new book. The goal is to shock and scare yourself out of the complacency and loneliness you feel.

Paint your nails. Master the hand that you’re shaky with, or even try mastering that ombre nail art technique.

You’re probably not as isolated as you think. Often, we feel that there’s a group of friends that we just HAVE to be friends with, for whatever reason. Chances are, these people aren’t making you happy and vice versa. But you may have some other friends you have been neglecting who really miss you. Find your Betty Finn, Veronica Sawyer.

Go for a run or a swim. It’s like punching air or water. Seriously.

Just be. So often, it’s like we need a quick fix for any intolerable emotion, but sometimes if you just exist in your loneliness for five seconds, radically accept it, it may just evaporate from whence it came.