The feeling of loneliness

What is loneliness?

Loneliness is a mental and emotional response to perceived isolation. It is often associated with a perceived lack of connection and intimacy. Loneliness is similar yet different from solitude. Solitude is the state of being apart from others; not everyone who experiences solitude feels lonely. As a subjective emotion, loneliness can be felt even when surrounded by others. Loneliness relates to the quality of our relationships with people rather than the quantity.Therefore there is a difference between being alone and feeling lonely. Loneliness can be short term or long term. In either case, it can be painful and emotionally draining.

Different types of loneliness:

Emotional loneliness

Is caused by absence of close relationships/ attachment figures.

Situational loneliness

Is caused by circumstances and conditions that are usually painful.

Social loneliness

Due to lack of social interactions

Existential loneliness

Caused by a subjective sense that a person is alone in their journey and unable to relate to other people.

Now ask yourself this: Why am I feeling like this?

There could be many reasons why people feel lonely. It could be that you don’t have anyone to talk to, you went through a breakup or you got betrayed by your friends in the past. There’s many reasons.

Different factors that can trigger loneliness:

Situational factors

Examples: Separation, Death of a close one, changing schools

Psychological factors

Examples: Depression, anxiety, stress

Internal factors

Examples: Low self esteem, self-doubting, lack of self confidence

Personality factors

Examples: Timid, awkward, anti-social

Is it okay to feel like this?

No one is immune to loneliness. Feeling lonely is inevitable, anyone can feel lonely. We’ve all felt lonely at some point. Although it may be a common emotion it’s something you should work on eliminating. Just like any other unpleasant emotion you might want to check in with yourself.

How to overcome loneliness

•Reach out for help

Feeling this way ,we might not be in the right state to handle our own problem.We first need to address why we are feeling this way with the help of close family and friends or a therapist .Knowing how and why we feel this way helps us to understand how to manage our emotions.Because some emotions take a huge strain on our mental health and this affects our lives leaving us in a state where we can’t work or do anything.

•Practice self care

We may feel this way because we don’t value ourselves as much as we should.Showing yourself how much you value yourself is one easy practice we can incorporate in our daily lives.

•Strengthen your relationships

Working on improving the quality of your relationships with people can help with the way you feel. Opening up may help people understand the seriousness of our emotions and the effects it may have on us

Loneliness vs Being alone

Loneliness is the sad feeling you get when you are alone.Being social doesn’t cure loneliness. There’s a reason we feel lonely even though we are not alone. It’s because loneliness is not about how many people are in the room with us or how many friends we have. It’s disconnecting from people. Loneliness comes when others can see past what we’re really feeling inside

On the other hand being alone is the physical state of being away from people. It describes the feeling of isolation. Being alone is being by yourself. Loneliness and being alone are often confused to have the same meaning but are very different.

Now that we know exactly what loneliness is. Get out there and teach more people about it. Changing the world with knowledge every day. Whenever you feel lonely just remember that we only have one life and we have to make the most of it.