We are an increasingly connected society, yet we feel more alone than ever. Why does this happen? Loneliness is turning into an epidemic regardless of age.
Last update: 28 March, 2022
How many times has it happened to feel alone in your life? Certainly on more than one occasion, because this bitter-tasting sensation can occur at any time in childhood, adolescence or maturity.
Feeling lonely from time to time is normal, it is not to feel this feeling for months or years. According to UN data, there are now about 7,5 billion people in the world, more connected than ever thanks to new technologies, yet we feel terribly alone. Loneliness hurts us like never before.
This reality is not only suffered emotionally through sadness, despair or anguish. Loneliness also has a serious impact on physical health, already on the rise as a true high-cost epidemic. We could therefore say that it is time to clarify one aspect: loneliness kills and it does so in many different ways.
The study done at the University of Chicago Psychology Department reminds us that this size increases the risk of premature death. How? Through myocardial infarctions, obesity, addictions and sadly even suicides. Feeling alone breaks little by little, until the most absolute defenselessness arrives.
Human beings need a quality social connection, in which the feeling of security and trust prevail, that constant stimulus in which affection, reciprocity and support flow. The absence of this vital right can be devastating.
Loneliness is very beautiful… when you have someone close to you to tell.
-Gustavo Adolfo Becquer-
Feeling alone: possible causes
The Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology magazine presents a defining aspect of loneliness.
Until recently, this term was understood in a one-dimensional way, that is, a person feels lonely when isolated, when he has no interactions. However, such an approach leads us to fall into error.
To begin with, loneliness isn't always synonymous with isolation. Being alone is not like feeling alone. In other words, many people have a partner, family, and friends, yet they feel a deep and devastating loneliness.
What's wrong then? Why do you happen to feel alone despite the vast network of trusted people around you? In the following lines we present the main reasons that feed, outline and explain this complex feeling today.
Stagnation
There are times in our life cycle when we are literally stuck. Nothing advances, nothing around us is meaningful to us and, what is worse, the sparkle of enthusiasm or motivation does not shine on the horizon.
Immersed in the suffocating routine, it is normal for the mind to fall into a state of continuous introspection and reflection in which the feeling of loneliness easily grows.
When life ceases to have meaning, one begins to build armor around oneself. It is as if, little by little, all relationships lose value and meaning.
Family and friends, but little meaningful relationships
It happens to feel alone due to the scarce accessibility of interpersonal relationships. What we mean by "accessibility":
- Not trusting the family and not feeling supported.
- Friends are people with whom you go out to party, but not with whom you can share your worries; the link is superficial.
- Absence of figures with which to express myself, share hobbies, tastes, confidences, etc.
Emotional loneliness is one of the most common forms today. More than social loneliness, that is, one in which the person does not enjoy a dense network of support.
Give everything to others and feel alone
This fact is common among caregivers or people accustomed to taking on a large number of responsibilities. When you pay attention 24 hours a day, there comes a time when your needs take a back seat.
This causes, in the short or long term, the feeling of loneliness. The caregiver perceives that he is being ignored, to be seen only as someone who gives but does not receive.
Feeling lonely because of an undefeated adversity
A loss, an emotional break, the burden of a traumatic childhood ... There are events for which no one is prepared, painful events that we cannot always overcome and that leave ballast, deep marks and internal cracks that are very difficult to repair.
Not having overcome such adversities often gives rise to a constant and distressing feeling of loneliness. Affective relationships do not always last long, every bond is unstable, no friendship or partner seems to satisfy all their needs.
The wounds of the past are an obstacle to creation and al maintaining a stable and secure network of people who can be counted on in the future day by day
When loneliness turns into abuse
There is a type of loneliness that deserves our attention and is related to old age. Today this reality represents a real epidemic, a social alarm that requires awareness and strategies.
Nowadays, a large number of elderly people (mostly women) live in a condition of isolation and unwelcome loneliness. Sometimes they have relatives, neighbors and social services interested in their situation. However, nothing seems sufficient, valid or meaningful to these people.
Because the day has many hours in a house where only silence dwells. Situations that leave their mark, which accelerate cognitive decline and previous illnesses.
In this context, it is necessary to adopt more active habits to deal with the isolation of the elderly. Life expectancy is getting longer and longer, reason for cuci new intervention and treatment strategies are necessary.
Conclusions
Loneliness not chosen and felt as painful is one of the greatest enemies of our times. It requires not only greater sensitivity, but also concrete emergency actions.
Loneliness is synonymous with social exclusion and this can occur at any age and has, as explained in this article, serious consequences. Let's remember, therefore, to act, be more sensitive and ask for help if we need it.
