Alone? Can't talk to Family or Friends? Try Pseudo-Strangers

I know you feel alone. Nobody understands you, nobody seems to care about you, and you don’t know what to do.

If I am speaking to you, there is something you can try: Enlist the ears of pseudo-strangers.

What are Pseudo-strangers? Let me explain.


When I was young, I would sometimes turn to unusual people whom I am calling, pseudo-strangers.

Pseudo-Strangers were outside my social and familial circles that I could talk to safely. They were people like my doctor, the postman, the lunch lady, and librarian.


I could speak to these people without the fear that what I said would somehow get spread around to my school friends, or family.

Also, pseudo-strangers like these are smart, experienced, and most of all, they are objective.


By objective I mean they didn’t just tell me things I wanted to hear, nor did they judge me. Most times I spoke to those folks, I needed to get stuff off my chest, and I felt better afterward.

Sometimes just voicing your feelings to an attentive ear can help you sort emotions, putting them into perspective.

Next time you are at your wits end, need someone to talk to, but no one is there, think about what I’m saying here and try the ears of pseudo-strangers in your life.

If you do this enough, you’ll find that in all actuality, things are never as bad as they seem because you always have more people caring about you than you realize.