Reach out for real help with wounded gut, spirit

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: This is an SOS. I just had my heart broken and it feels like my stomach is broken too. I gobble Tums to survive these days. I am a wreck.

What can you recommend for me in order to make it through university exams this spring, with the marks I so desperately need to get into my profession?

— Feeling Broken, Winnipeg

Dear Feeling Broken: Because you need to be able to concentrate while in class, studying and writing papers, you need a fast-acting plan other than good old Tums.

It should start with some counselling from people other than your friends. Hit up the student counselling centre in UMSU to set up immediate help.

They offer this open invitation: “If you are experiencing a high degree of distress, please call the student counselling centre reception desk at 204-474-8592 to discuss your situation.” They can help you find the kind of help you need to get you through the term.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I had a job working at a beach last summer, which kept me away from the city seven days a week. By the end of the summer, I knew country life by the lake was what I wanted, so I stayed on working for the fall and winter.

Sadly, most of the people I hung out with went back to Winnipeg to work or go to university, and I’m pretty bummed out. I’ve been so lonely here as a single person this winter. I feel like a freak sometimes.

Does this mean I have to live back in the city until I get a partner, and convince them to live by the lake?

I really want to live a country/lake lifestyle one day, but I have learned almost everything is done in pairs here — either married or living together, but not one guy alone.

— Ready to Quit, Gimli

Dear Ready: January to mid-March can be bleak months in a beach town after Christmas is over and spring isn’t yet in sight.

You are right that being single doesn’t help for many activities. It’s easier to break into a town’s social life if you have a partner with you — even just a friend.

The trick to surviving through the end of winter now is to hit the town office, find out about all the different activities and initiatives going on, and over-join.

If off-season beach life is still not working for you after that, there’s no shame in giving up. Just move back to the city to live where you have old friends and family year round.

You can always rent cabins for the late spring and summer like so many other city folks who love lake life and accept the fact it’s just not a workable full-time lifestyle for you right now.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.

Maureen Scurfield
Advice columnist

Maureen Scurfield writes the Miss Lonelyhearts advice column.

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