Loneliness And Its Consequences For A Person

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Loneliness and its consequences for a person

“People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges” - JF Newton.

Loneliness is a condition that most people experience at some point in their lives. This can happen as a result of life circumstances, such as bereavement, a move, a job change, or the breaking up of a meaningful relationship. A person suffering from loneliness may experience a strong sense of emptiness. Loneliness can also include feeling unnecessary and unimportant. People who experience chronic loneliness can find it difficult to develop strong interpersonal relationships.

Loneliness is not the same as just being alone. Physical loneliness can be a positive and enriching experience, and people often choose to be alone for a period of time. This is a sign that the adult has reached full maturity when he is comfortable in his own company. This indicates that the person's relationship with himself is healthy.

On the contrary, lonely people cannot bear to be alone. For them, this can be seen as evidence that they are unloved and undesirable. People who experience loneliness feel lonely even when they are surrounded by other people. Their loneliness is the result of their inability to communicate with others.

What causes this condition? Very often this can be the result of experiencing isolation during childhood. Children and adolescents who have experienced bullying may find themselves isolated and convinced that something is wrong with them. Loneliness can also be the result of a lack of emotional support at critical stages of development, making it feel like no one will understand or support them.

The problem with loneliness is that it is eternal. Lonely people tend to avoid social contact because they feel that no one understands them and they do not want to hear what they have to say. This leads to further isolation and possibly depression.

When we talk about lonely or isolated people, what do we mean?

The classic image of a lonely person is an elderly adult whose children have left home and moved away, perhaps whose partner or close friends have died, and they live in isolation, rarely leaving the house. Or perhaps a chronically ill person who is unable to participate in society due to health conditions.

These are classic stereotypes about who a lonely or withdrawn person is.

But loneliness does not necessarily mean a life in which you do not come into contact with people, far from it. Here are some less obvious examples of the lonely and isolated person.

• Loneliness in a relationship - when you've lost touch with your partner. You can live together, but you feel lonely, isolated and disconnected from them.

• Loneliness and feelings of isolation after a breakup.

• Loneliness in your work - being on an office team and working with other team members may not feel like a part of the team, you may even suffer from bullying or harassment and thus feel isolated every day. Or it could be loneliness from being the boss.

• A guardian for a partner or family member - Your partner may need constant care and attention, you have had to quit your job, and you may have lost your social life. Isolation and loneliness can easily be the result of ongoing childcare.

• Loneliness and a sense of isolation when children leave home, the so-called “empty nest syndrome”.

We may all want to be alone at certain times in our lives. Seeking solitude and silence to relax, contemplate or meditate is a very natural and healthy choice. Loneliness and isolation are not our choices, but symptoms of losing connection with other people with whom we once felt connected. It's about the quality of the connections we establish.

Loneliness, isolation and health (mental and somatic)

There is a close relationship between those with chronic mental illness and loneliness.

It is not that loneliness causes mental health, but that mental health often isolates the sufferer and causes them to withdraw, leading to loneliness, which then further affects their mental health and the cycle continues.

Loneliness makes us feel cold. Research has shown that, when recalling times when we felt lonely, study participants rated the indoor temperature as significantly lower. It even caused their own temperature to drop. The idea of feeling “thrown into the cold” resonates with our evolutionary past, when being ostracized by our tribes meant staying away from the warmth of the home and the social group around it. Indeed, our bodies react dramatically to loneliness.

Chronic loneliness significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Over time, people who are chronically lonely are much more likely to develop heart disease because their bodies are subjected to constant and unrelenting stress. But this is not the only effect of loneliness on our body …

Loneliness suppresses our immune system. Loneliness causes our immune systems to function less efficiently, which over time puts us at increased risk of developing all types of diseases and illnesses. Even short bouts of loneliness affect our immune system.