A wife's loneliness

I'm a youngish mum of two great children, have a great husband, and live in a nice village. However I am so lonely. My husband works long hours that include nights away. I rarely see my family who live miles away and I have not made any friends in my area since I moved here five years ago. I join in activities in our area but nothing seems to come of any encounters with other mothers. I know lots of people to say hello to and some to chat to on a surface level, but that's all it is, surface. I feel like the odd one out as other people have at least one friend to walk to school with or have a coffee with. I'm feeling really abnormal as I have always had lots of friends in the past. I feel like I am being forced to live in solitary confinement ... help! I'm not a shy person and I am very friendly and usually confident.

# However my confidence is now being severely affected. What's wrong with me? Am I expecting too much? Charlotte

Dear Charlotte

There's nothing wrong with you! You are a normal woman in a common predicament. However, I have some questions for you. Your answers may give you a way forward.

When you chat to other parents outside the school gates, do you ever say, Would you like to come back for a coffee? and then fix a definite day and time? Or have you been leaving it to others to make all the running and rescue you from your loneliness? Loneliness is a condition that exists in all countries and has existed throughout time. There are words for it in every language. But the door out of loneliness opens from the inside.

Even though the people you meet may not be a perfect match for your ideal friends, they're what you have available. Just as you have been holding back out of shyness and fear of rejection, so have they! Are you willing to be the one who makes the first move? Don't forget, other people may have bad days or other appointments. If you have been afraid of rejection, is it because you have been thinking critical thoughts about yourself? Do you want to stay stuck? If you don't, I invite you to start today! Apart from making those invitations, why not write a list of all your good qualities? Kind, caring, sensitive and friendly might be the first three on your list. And what of all your skills? Why don't you list them too? You can also make a separate list of all the friends you've had and what they liked about you. Just being able to write, liked me, Y liked me and Z liked me is a wonderful beginning. You still have all the qualities those people liked about you! That puts you several steps ahead of people who've never really had friends, doesn't it?