Loneliness is basically drowning in a sea or in a crowd of people. It is believing that your existence is insignificant; it is believing that you are meaningless to anyone and anything. Loneliness is a tragedy; it is heartbreak, hardship and hurt. Loneliness is being covered in open wounds and scars that never heal. To be lonely is another thing, being alone is another matter entirely. To understand this, first, one must understand the difference between loneliness and being alone. To be alone means that you are not in the company of anyone else. You are one. But loneliness can happen anytime, anywhere. You can be lonely in a crowd, lonely with friends, lonely with family. You can even be lonely while with loved ones. Feeling lonely is, in essence, a feeling of being alone. Loneliness can be one of the most destructive feelings humans are capable of feeling. For loneliness can lead to depression, suicide, and even raging out and hurting people.
Chronically lonely people will usually have low opinions of themselves. They may think of themselves as unintelligent, unattractive, broken, unwanted, not worthy of good things, unable to do any sort of thing right, or socially isolated. Unlike many other emotionally hurting people, the chronically lonely usually know what is wrong, but like many others, they don’t believe they can do anything to fix it, or, circling back to the low self-esteem, they may also believe they are not worthy of happiness. It takes the strong support of good friends or other loved ones to help the lonely conquer their feelings. Simply trying to counteract the low self-esteem verbally will not do it, though, for, in their downstate, they will see the person as just trying to be nice or spare their feelings. The lonely must be shown in more subtle, yet clear ways that they are not the useless person they perceive themselves to be. For example, with a person who feels particularly unloved and unwanted, someone close to them should try to take a little extra time to spend with that person and try to set aside a little extra time to talk to the person. Nothing special needs to be said or done, simply spending time, willing and without having been asked, allows the lonely one to see that they are loved, that they are worthy of being associated with and that they are worthy to the people who loves them.
Almost everybody feels lonely at some point, and that’s not necessarily detrimental. Sometimes, it’s a temporary state of affairs due to circumstances, like when you move to a new town, get divorced, or lose a loved one. Getting more involved in social activities and meeting new people can usually help you move forward. But this can be difficult at times, and the longer your isolation continues, the harder it can be to change. Maybe you don’t know what to do, or maybe you’ve tried without success. This can be a problem because persistent loneliness can have a negative impact on your emotional and physical health. In fact, loneliness has been associated with depression, suicide, and physical illness.
If you or someone you care about is experiencing loneliness, know that the solution can be simple. Connecting more with others and meeting new people can help you move forward, that’s where these resources come in. They provide options for connecting with others in many ways, from volunteering for a cause to meeting people with similar interests, to even adopting a dog or cat to serve as a loyal companion. So people should go ahead, explore these some sort of sites and find the ones that best fit the unique needs of you or someone you’re concerned about. People should start taking the next step towards overcoming loneliness and finding meaningful connection with others.