Hi Ravi, I had written to you earlier and your advice truly helped me. Hence, I write to you again. I was going around with a Punjabi girl and we used to get along very well despite the fact that she was posh and I'm not. Once her insensitive behaviour hurt me and I was very rude to her. I later realised that she was deeply shocked by my outburst and the poor girl went into depression. In fact she had to go for rehab as well. I sank into guilt and after she was back from rehab, I tried patching up with her desperately. However, as I was half expecting, she refused to continue being friends with me and stopped taking my calls. I saw this coming but I still find it difficult to deal with the emptiness at times. My friends ask me to read a lot but I feel books can never be a substitute to female company. Please advise on how I can cope with my loneliness. Thank you

Ans: Dear Anonymous,

I am sorry to hear that you are going through such a trying time. It is evident that you deeply care for your partner and are feeling a mix of emotions. Here are some suggestions from my end that you might want to consider-

• Take some time to reflect on your feelings. Take into consideration what you want from the relationship. As you have mentioned earlier, you two come from different backgrounds, make sure that does not pose an obstacle in the future if you happen to apologize and fix your relationship now.
• Coming to apologizing, if she gets in touch with you, be honest about your feelings. Apologize sincerely and use your words first to explain how sorry you feel for your rude behavior and later express that in actions too. Let her know that you did not mean to hurt her, but most importantly, you recognize your mistake and you are not trying to hide behind your apology.
• If she is still willing to build a relationship with you, you need to tread carefully, first taking into consideration your feelings.
• If she does not want to take things ahead, listen carefully to what she says and try to look at things from her perspective.
• It is important to acknowledge the possibility of her never reaching out. In that case, coping might be challenging but it is doable. Take it one day at a time and one step at a time, starting with self-care. Find your closest people and lean on them for support. There's no shame in needing extra help to get you through heartbreak. Engage in activities that make you happy and don't ever think that this is the end. It might feel so at the moment, but this too shall pass.

Best Wishes!

Ans: Dear Kanishka,
Chasing people just to drive loneliness away isn't a great goal to have in the first place. Sooner or later, these people will move away once they realize that you have connected with them to satisfy a need of yours. If they fit the bill, you will have a tendency to avoid them which will only make them feel disrespected.
Connections are based on trust, love and respect.
So, would it be possible for you to make a genuine effort to associate with people with genuine interest in them? This will help foster mutual trust and warmth and maybe lead to a relationship that is not just satisfying your need but is instead nurturing the connection allowing the two of you to explore a long-term relationship.

And do focus on your career as well; it pays your bills and secures your future! A wholesome life is a good aim to have...

All the best!

Ans: Dear Kanishka,
What is the point with all the distress? The more you stay in the problem, the bigger it is going to get!
If your relationship is over, then move on...yes, the emptiness takes quite sometime to get over with BUT it is possible to get a grab of your emotions ONLY if you choose to...
Focus on the time being on:
Work
Health
Family
Friends
This will give you an idea as to how much more energy you can drive into each of these to see the results that you want. Obviously, you can put in strategic thought into planning the next 10 years of your professional life. Your career ends only when you want it to end. In this digital age, the world is one big village where there are myriad opportunities. Research a bit on where your skills and experience can add value...
So, the point that I am making here is: Shift focus to the things that can change the course of your life for the better!

All the best!