Me, Myself, & Isla - Lifting the Lid on Loneliness
Hey, I’m Isla. I’m 45 and I work in marketing in events. I’m also a volunteer board member for a local mental health charity. I’m single, which can feel weird to say out loud at my age. I love people, interactions with people make me feel alive and give me purpose, and as long as I have those, being single usually feels just fine. But then came Covid-19, to really mess with everything that made me feel good. When lockdown kicked in during March 2020, life changed for all of us. Everyone’s situation was different, and the impact (good for some as well as bad) was different for everyone. Some felt the pain of living alone, others had the horror show of home schooling, and I don’t have adequate words or experience to even begin a discussion on the people who suffered loss during lockdown, or worked on the front line. However, one feeling I think most people felt to varying degrees was loneliness. And even if you were lucky enough not to feel lonely, I’m sure you knew someone that possibly was. All of a sudden, human contact drastically reduced, with very little exception, and for some it disappeared completely. If I’m honest, I still can’t believe it when I think about it. I think it’s only now that we’re starting to mix properly again, and believe we can now make plans for the future, that I can let myself think about what we’ve all been through. But then I got to thinking, loneliness isn’t a new thing. It didn’t just appear as a result of the pandemic, although for sure levels drastically increased. Loneliness has been around forever, and we haven’t talked about it until now because it’s a bit embarrassing. And that means the people have suffered with this feeling on their own, without knowing that so many people are out there feeling the same, perhaps just for different reasons. Someone who I hope to speak to soon said that loneliness is her “favourite dirty word”, and I love this, because it’s true. We all feel it at some point in our life, but we’re scared to say for fear of being judged. And so came the idea for my first podcast (and possibly last, depending how this lands) ‘Me, myself, and I(sla) – Lifting the Lid on Loneliness. I want to talk to people who are comfortable speaking about times in their life when they have felt lonely, and what they did or are doing to find a way through. I put a call for guests out my own social channels, and was blown away by the responses I got back. People who felt lonely in their marriage, lonely in their new management position, lonely with an illness, lonely living on their own, lonely as a new parent, lonely as children left the home, lonely because they don’t feel heard, and the list goes on… I also heard from people who are extremely happy being alone, and those who make time to be on their own as often as they can. So I hope to speak with some of these awesome people across the next few weeks and months, and find out a little more about their experiences, and listen to any hints, tips and good advice they have to share. The one thing I already know is that if you have felt, or are feeling alone, ironically you are far from alone. And maybe that fact is a little piece of comfort for now.
Episodes
Hello, and welcome to the next episode of Me, Myself and Isla – Lifting the Lid on Loneliness. Today, I’m chatting to Lisa Ironside, Managing Director of The HR Dept Aberdeenshire.
Lisa is someone who knows a thing or two about connection, and what it feels like when it’s missing. She has worked in HR for over 20 years and until 2022, she led culture and inclusion for a global company of 60,000 people, but despite being surrounded ...
Hello, and welcome to the next episode of Me, Myself and Isla – Lifting the Lid on Loneliness. Today, I’m chatting to Susi McWilliam, a spiritual teacher, best-selling author, meditation teacher and trainer, podcaster, spiritual coach, and owner and founder of North East based business Spirit and Soul. Her business was built over the years based on her own experience of overcoming anxiety, depression, and chronic illness - all mome...
Hello, and welcome to episode 8 of Me, Myself and Isla – Lifting the Lid on Loneliness. After another break, because life gets in the way sometimes, I’m so happy to be back doing my favourite thing, talking to people, listening to their stories, and then sharing them in case they help other people.
We’re kicking off, what I guess is a new season, with the wonderful Suz Bird, who I have known for a long time now. We’ve been trying t...
Welcome to episode 7 of ‘Me, Myself, and Isla – Lifting the Lid on Loneliness’. It’s been a little while since I recorded one of these podcasts, life gets in the way sometimes, but I am very happy to kick off again with the wonderful Sandra Mclennan.
I’ve known of Sandra for a long time through work, so I already knew she was awesome, smart, switched on, and super professional, but it’s only recently that we’ve started to talk a li...
Today my guest is Mark Dalgarno, a Global Talent Acquisition Lead at Minor Figures, and a well-respected CV and Career Coach.
Mark got in touch a few months ago and offered to join me on my podcast. He suggested sharing some of his experiences of being alone, and also being lonely, which are of course two different things, and how times of loneliness helped him to build strength and resilience.
On this podcast Mark reflects on time...
Welcome to the next episode of ‘Me, Myself, and Isla – Lifting the Lid on Loneliness’. Today we’re talking to Craig Leith, Senior Lecturer at Robert Gordon’s University in Aberdeen, and Subject Leader of Hospitality, Tourism, and Events.
Craig got in touch back in January when I very first put the idea of my podcast out there, and suggested he speak about his PhD research on the area of Solo Tourism, and the relationship with lonel...
Laura Antonia Jordan is the Fashion and Lifestyle Features Director at Grazia, my favourite ever magazine, so I was over the moon when she agreed to join me on my podcast.
I approached Laura after reading an incredible article that she wrote about loneliness in lockdown. I felt every word she said, and it turns out I wasn’t alone because it was one of her most read articles to date. I also watched a short clip of a Zoom call she sh...
When I was deciding whether or not do this podcast, I put some feelers out on social media and was blown away by the response that I got. So many people reached out to say they were glad this topic was finally being covered, shared their own experiences of loneliness, and some people even offered to join me for a chat.
Adele Slater, a friend and someone I’ve also been lucky enough to work with, was one of the first people to respon...
Welcome to the first episode of my podcast, ‘Me, Myself, and Isla – Lifting the Lid on Loneliness’. I'm joined by Astrid Whyte and Laura Simmons, who are both experienced person-centred counsellors, and have wisdom and compassion for everyone.
I was over the moon when they agreed to join me for a chat about loneliness in general, share our own experiences of it, chat about the various causes of loneliness, and the importance of hav...
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