Understanding Loneliness – The Secret Epidemic
Loneliness is something that everyone will suffer with at one point or another in their lives. In reality a fair number of people really cope with solitude on a constant basis nevertheless , there is a social stigma against overtly admitting that you are lonesome, so the majority of people keep this feeling concealed.
Solitude is measured by a lack of deep and meaningful interpersonal connections in a person’s life. Although many people may be hard-pressed to admit to feeling lonesome, when asked if they’ve got a close friend, partner, or relative with whom they can share thoughts and feelings with, many individuals replied that they did not. This indicates that loneliness is largely under reported in our society.
Many of us believe that loneliness and depression frequently go hand-in-hand, and this is correct. Nevertheless it is important to understand that differences between them.
Isolation is indicated by a desire to reach out and connect with others, while depression is indicated by withdrawing from others keeping to yourself.
The way the isolation/depression cycle usually plays out is that an individual will start to feel lonesome due to a lack of meaningful connections in their life. They will then try and reach out, but if their efforts don’t prove successful, they may become depressed after a time. This depression will cause them the be more reclusive, which will only breed further loneliness and therefore the dangerous cycle continues.
If you are feeling lonesome, your most important enemy that you are going to have to handle is depression. It’s what will kill your drive to reach out and connect to others and sabotage your plans to turn your situation around.
Find out how such as studying personal development to keep your spirits up and maintain your motivation to make friends and build connections. Though social phobia, bashfulness, or any other obstacle may impede you as you try and make new friends along the way, it’s good to plan instances when you can meet and engage with people as much as possible.
Join a church or social group that meets continually. Spend a little time greeting strangers as you walk to work in the morning. Go the additional mile to make chatter with clerks, waiters, or other people you can see on a regular basis. Simply asking a question like “how is your day going?” can sometimes be all that it can take to open up a new conversation and begin building a friendship.
If you’d like to learn more on how to deal with loneliness check out my relationship problem blog.