Advice for feeling less romantically lonely?

[Anonymous]

For context: I'm 27 and have never had a girlfriend. In fact, I've only been on one real date.

Lately, I've been feeling very lonely in the romance department. I want to love and feel loved romantically, but I'm not at a good place in my life to be dating at the moment and I've never been good at trying to establish romantic relationships anyway (hence the single date I've been on). So does anyone have suggestions on how to mitigate these feelings until I'm ready to try dating again?

[Selene1600000]

You can’t fully “turn off” the need for connection, but you can make it less heavy by meeting it in other ways for now. Build real connection elsewhere close friendships, group activities, regular social contact because loneliness is often more about lack of connection than lack of romance. At the same time, work on your life health, routine, confidence, social skills so when you are ready, you’re not starting from zero but stepping into dating with momentum.

[Flight0]

They aren’t going to come to you. Clean yourself up and put it out there.

[Asker]

I know that, but like I said, I'm not looking to date right now. I'm just looking for how to feel less lonely until I'm ready to date again.