10 Tips to combat loneliness | ÆmberaDolls in Konstanz
Published: 22 October 2025
10 helpful tips to feel less lonely:
- Use the telephone to talk to people and bridge distances
- Get a pet or lifelike object to combat loneliness: emotional support
- Clubs, gatherings and meet-ups: Do something with like-minded people
- Get moving together
- Talk to your neighbours and take advantage of local services
- Committed to fighting loneliness: volunteering
- Cooking and eating together
- Queue the Playlist: Play some music
- Find a support group for lonely people
- Build self-confidence daily with small habits
Do you feel lonely and want to do something about it? Great! Wanting to do something about it is always the first and most important step! Our ten tips for combating loneliness will help you get active, have more positive experiences and connect with people.
Some people describe loneliness as an unpleasant emptiness, others as a longing similar to homesickness. In all cases it is based on the subjective feeling that one's social relationships do not meet one's personal needs.
This may mean that there is less contact with other people than desired. However, it is also possible that social contacts exist, but they may seem superficial or unsatisfying. In this case, there is primarily a desire for closer emotional bonds. Knowing which need needs to be addressed is most important (more contacts, closer contacts or both) and will help to find solutions. We show you what options are available here.
What can you do about loneliness? Ten helpful tips
At ÆmberaDolls, we all have experience with loneliness. Here is what has helped us.
The first step in overcoming loneliness is always to acknowledge that you are lonely. For many people, this is also the most difficult step. Consciously admitting to yourself, ‘Yes, I feel lonely’ may initially seem like a personal failure or defeat.
But you by far not the only person that may feel lonely! Loneliness is widespread in our often very anonymous society and affects many people (60% of people in Germany feel lonely at least some of the time, 38% in Switzerland). Accepting that you are lonely is not a defeat, but the first and essential step towards overcoming loneliness.
If, in addition to loneliness, you suffer from depression or listlessness, you should discuss this with your doctor or a psychologist. They can determine whether you need psychotherapeutic support.
The second and also very important step in overcoming loneliness is to actively combat it. Simply having the attitude and conviction that you can do something about it on your own is fertile ground for more social contacts. This will not only improve your mood and daily life, but also significantly reduce your risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
Our ten specific tips show you examples of how you can use this positive attitude and take action against loneliness.
1. Use the telephone to talk to people and bridge distances
Your best friend lives 500 kilometres away, and your favourite aunt lives abroad. What about that best friend from school from years ago who you could tell absolutely everything to? She lives in the same city, but her hectic job or kids means she rarely has time to meet up.
Even if phone calls and video calls are not the same as real meetings, they enable closeness and social bonding. However, simply picking up the phone is often not so easy. Appointments, stress or household chores get in the way of spontaneous conversations.
A good solution is to schedule regular phone calls. They are like little dates to look forward to and provide space and time for conversation. You can also use the time while doing chores (like cleaning, doing laundry or cooking) to spontaneously phone a friend or loved one. They will love a nice surprise!
If no one is available to talk to, or if you find it difficult to talk about your inner feelings even with those close to you, a call to a telephone counselling service can help. These organisations are happy to support you:
- The telephone counselling (Telefonseelsorge) service is available around the clock and free of charge and all conversations are of course anonymous. Communication via email or chat is also possible.
- Student telephone counselling service (Studentische Telefonseelsorge): 040 / 411 70 411
This service is anonymous and free service for students living all over Germany and is available daily from 8 p.m. to midnight. - Crisis chat: 0157 359 98 143
Young people under the age of 25 can receive free, anonymous and immediate counselling here via WhatsApp or SMS, 365 days a year, around the clock
2. Get a pet or lifelike object to combat loneliness: emotional support
The dog that greets you happily when you get home, the cat that purrs as you tell it about your troubles at work are great examples. While pets cannot replace human social bonds, they can provide closeness, affection and security, and thus emotional support.
Walking a dog also allows you to meet other dog owners and get some exercise. You don't even have to own your own pet to do this: many local animal shelters welcome volunteers. Perhaps someone in your circle of friends or neighbourhood has a pet that you could look after or take for a walk from time to time.
Important: If you are thinking about getting a pet, you should ask yourself: Do you have enough time? Can you afford it? Are you willing to care for it for many years, and is the animal a good fit for you? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you can move on to the next steps.
If your answer to any of the above questions is no, consider a human- or animal-like object, like a lifelike doll or a robotic pet. There are a number of products out there that are ideally suited to a range of life circumstances ranging from high-stress careers, apprehension towards dating, living with a (severe) disability, old age or a social anxiety disorder. Lifelike objects are always there for you, can interact with you, and do not require frequent maintenance.
3. Clubs, gatherings and meet-ups: Do something with like-minded people
There are around 600.000 clubs in Germany and 100.000 clubs in Switzerland covering every conceivable hobby and interest. Clubs and other organised gatherings, such as running clubs or regulars' tables (Stammtische) on topics such as photography, are a great way to meet people with the same interests, talk about your shared passion and pursue hobbies together. Simply google them and find one close to you!
Regular meetings, such as weekly get-togethers, can help new friendships develop and grow stronger, which do not have to be limited to club life.
4. Get moving together
Sport and regular physical activity can reduce stress and tension and have a positive effect on mental health by releasing endorphins. It's even better when the exercise takes place in a group and new contacts are made.
Local sports clubs as well as community and district centres are good places to start. For example, the regional groups of the Alpine Club offer activities for hiking enthusiasts.
5. Talk to your neighbours and take advantage of local services
Good things are often close at hand, namely in your immediate neighbourhood. Community and district centres are a good place to start. There are also online services that allow neighbours to get to know each other and start projects together.
Be conscious of the fact that the people we are talking about here might live right next door or even in the same building. So what could be more natural than seeking personal contact? There are many reasons to do so: offering to help mow the lawn or do the shopping, or organising a garden party together. Getting in touch with your neighbours is not that difficult; you don't have to ring their doorbell right away. A friendly hello often leads to a conversation more quickly than you might think, even in Germany or Switzerland.
6. Committed to fighting loneliness: volunteering
Reading to children, helping out at food banks, coaching young people in sports clubs or practising German with refugees: volunteering takes time and energy, but it also gives back a lot of gratitude.
In the US Study "Health and Retirement", participants reported that their social engagement strengthened their connections to other people, gave their lives more meaning and reduced feelings of loneliness. The German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland Affairs provides an overview of volunteering opportunities.
7. Cooking and eating together
Sharing meals is a great way to strengthen bonds in many cultures across the world. Everyone has to eat, why not do it together? A group meal not only satisfies hunger, it also strengthens social bonds and physical and mental well-being.
Cooking enthusiasts can find like-minded people through cooking courses at adult education centres (Volkshochschule), while neighbourhood networks are another option. The "Über den Tellerrand" initiative brings together refugees and locals to cook and eat together.
8. Queue the playlist: Play some music
Listening to music has a variety of effects on our emotions. It can be energising and motivating, but it can also make us feel sad. There is no general recommendation as to what kind of music triggers happiness, security or activity, it depends on individual taste and personal experience.
Music is a connecting element in almost any case and enables you to meet other people: for example, at a concert or music festival, a dance evening, in a choir or at a course to learn an instrument.
Here you will find a highly rated playlist for happiness.
9. Find a support group for lonely people
Support groups on the topic of loneliness enable people to talk openly about their feelings of loneliness without feeling ashamed. Simply knowing that others feel the same way can be a great relief. The joint search for solutions often opens up new ideas and has a motivating effect.
There are self-help groups for loneliness in many cities and communities, but there is no central overview in Germany or Switzerland. You can find out which contact point in your city or community can provide information about a self-help group for lonely people by calling or searching the database of the National Contact and Information Centre for the Promotion and Support of Self-Help Groups (NAKOS).
The Diskussionsforum-Depression has a forum for (amongst other things) of local meetups all over Germany.
In Switzerland there are so-called Selbsthilfezentren.
10. Build self-confidence daily with small habits
There are many different ways to build your self-confidence every day.
The above-mentioned ways of overcoming loneliness are, of course, not exhaustive. There are many other options for meeting people and making new friends. Our tips are simply intended to give you a sense of how great the potential is for interpersonal encounters and social contacts and to give practical advice on doing something about it yourself.
Even if it is not easy, especially for more introverted people: it can be a lot of fun and very rewarding to approach people first. What's more, the people in your neighbourhood and your colleagues at work are not always blessed with the confidence to actively approach you either.
Therefore, our most important tip is: take heart and actively combat loneliness with confidence. You will see that it is worth it.
Additional Links:
The Headspace App gives you guided meditations to help a racing mind and increase your inner peace.
Hhere are 20 gratitude excercises to increase mental health and wellbeing.