One of the toughest parts of isolation is a lack of an expressive exit. With anger, you can get mad at someone and yell. With sadness, you can cry. But isolation feels like being in a room with no way out.

(A)For people who cannot push themselves, however, support groups are a good cure for isolation. They offer the opportunity for connection in a safe and controlled way.

(B)And the longer you get stuck there, the harder it becomes to share the pain and sorrow. In isolation, hope disappears, despair rules, and you can no longer see a life beyond the invisible walls that imprison you.

(C)Some people find it helpful to work gently at driving themselves back into the world. In one case, a woman reported that after four miserable forced lunches with friends, she suddenly enjoyed the fifth one as she found herself laughing at a joke.