We believe talking about loneliness can help others who feel lonely understand they’re not alone.  We also believe that sharing personal stories can be helpful in making sense of an experience and learning new ways to build meaningful social connections.

Before sharing your story, we encourage you to think about:

• What is the purpose for sharing my story?
• What message do I want others to receive from my story?
• How do I want people to feel after reading my story?
• Am I comfortable with my story being publicly accessible?
• What support do I have in place if writing my story raises difficult feelings? Our support page lists 24/7 helplines should you wish to speak with someone.

We wish to create a safe space for people to share their experiences with others. We ask that you follow the below guidelines when submitting your story:

• Please read the Guidelines for Talking about Loneliness
• Consider if now is the right time for you to share your story
• Think about the message you wish to share with others. You might wish to:
  – Share a time when you felt lonely
  – Reflect on how your behaviour or attitude changed during this time (this can be helpful for others to spot the signs)
  – Provide insights into the types of connection that made you feel seen, heard and understood
• We will not publish content that is discriminatory, promotes a product and or service or has content we feel may be harmful to others. If we make edits, we will seek you permission to publish.
• You do not need to submit a photo and you have to option to remain anonymous.
• Suggested length: 200-500 words
• This is not a support page. If you need to speak with someone, please reach out to one of the services listed here.

Stories submitted are not automatically published for the safety of our visitors and to ensure they meet our guidelines. Your story will be reviewed by an Ending Loneliness Together team member and uploaded when time permits. If we feel we may not be able to share your story in its current form (based on our guidelines), we may edit your story for clarity or to remove triggering content, but we will always share any edits with you before we publish.