The best ways I know to deal with lonliness are:
- Reach out to someone else who may be lonely (or someone who would probably be happy to connect with you a bit).
- Go for a walk / hike where you may encounter other people ( and / or pets before I got my dog I used to have a couple places I'd go walk because I knew lots of people often walked their dogs there and I could pet dogs)
- Volunteer somewhere, anywhere, ideally somwhere where you receive frequent appreciative feedback so you are reminded that there are people who appreciate you and kinda need you
- Write an e-mail to a friend
- Connect online on CC or other forums or chat sites
- Crank some music and dance like no one's watching (because there's no one around to watch)
- Reminisce and pray thanking God for all the good friends of the past, asking him to continue to watch over them and guard them, and also to provide more friends like that in your life
- Designate a pillow, stuffed animal, blanket, etc as your cuddle buddy for those times when you just need something to hug
And if none of that seems to work, there's always the bury yourself in a game, tv show, movie, book to help burn through the lonely hours (don't know that that's such a godly response, but I still consider it better than some alternatives.