Coping with loneliness

Lately I've read an article which I find.. quite scarily familiar.

It cannot be denied that many of us fear being lonely. Some may openly admit it while other may bury themselves in work or social activities to avoid being labelled as "lonely". Paradoxically, in our fear of rejection and loneliness, we may make ourselves more lonely than ever by building walls around ourselves and holding back parts of ourselves in intimate relationships. We may deceive ourselves that we can overcome loneliness by anchoring our lives to someone elses'.

I think that's what I've been doing all this while. Try to "anchor" or rather "hold on" to someone who I think would look after me. And when the rejection comes, I seek yet for another anchor. I am floating within my own ocean, trying desperately to find something which can carry we through troubled waters. To all the people who have once in their lifetimes been my anchor, especially those who have turned out to be good friends, I thank you for your patience.

The ways in which I have tried to overcome loneliness:
1) Schedule every moment by burying myself in studies
2) Go all out to help others
3) Slave myself to routine and overstructure my goals
4) Try to lose myself in crowds

There are many other ways in which people try to cope with loneliness, I am only lucky that I haven't resorted to anything more serious like alcohol, sex or drugs.

The article quotes that "Feeling good about ourselves is necessary if we want to feel good with others". So that's where my problem lies, I don't feel good about myself, therefore reluctant to know more people for fear that they might not like me.

I have become a victim of my own perceptions and experiences. I trapped myself in the prison of loneliness, and lived with the illusion that someone somewhere would someday release me from that cage.

"When one is a stranger to oneself, one is also a stranger to others, and thus feels isolated. If we are out of touch with ourselves, there is no way we can touch others."