Learning how to cope with loneliness
OVER the past year, we’ve lived through two pandemics – Covid is the first, loneliness is the second as the number of people in the UK who say they are lonely has doubled.
In the programme, DRYCH: Sut i beidio bod yn unig (How not to be lonely), the author Myfanwy Alexander, who has suffered from loneliness, goes on a journey to find out exactly what loneliness is and to discover ways to cope with it.
Myfanwy, who is mum to six girls, has been living on her own in the Montogomeryshire countryside for a year now.
“Before I separated from my husband, there were eight people living in this house so there was a lot of noise and buzz.
“So it was a big change when just over a year ago, Gwenllian, my youngest, left to go to university.
“I miss her and also the idea of having someone around.”
“The feeling of loneliness has caught up with me and the lockdown has made me feel more isolated than ever. So I’ve been on a journey to meet people who have faced loneliness and fought against it.
“I want to know how not to be lonely.”
Over the course of the programme, Myfanwy looks at loneliness from different points of view – from the neurological to the social – and she discovers different ways to manage feelings of loneliness and isolation.
So, what does Myfanwy learn on her journey? Is there hope of her coming to terms with and managing her relationship with loneliness? Watch DRYCH: Sut i beidio bod yn unig to find out.
DRYCH: Sut i beidio bod yn unig is being broadcast as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021.
■ DRYCH: Sut i beidio bod yn unig. Tonight, 9pm, S4C. English subtitles available. On demand: S4C Clic, iPlayer and other platforms. A Hall of Mirrors production for S4C