About 40 percent of us regularly experience loneliness, with all of its mental and physical costs. Fortunately, recent research points to some ways to overcome it.
In your opinion, how to cure loneliness? Thank you for your participation.
You must realize that loneliness is a feeling, not a fact. When you are feeling lonely, it is usually because something has triggered a memory of that feeling, not because you are in fact, isolated and alone. Reach out because loneliness is painful and can confuse you into thinking that you are an outcast which can damage your mental health even further.
Winnicott, D.W. (1958). The Capacity to be Alone. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 39:416-420
"The capacity to be alone is a highly sophisticated phenomenon and has many contributory factors. It is closely related to emotional maturity."
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b491/33a8dcc46979911d506b75ca2407d787b74f.pdf
When you have been safely alone in the present of e.g. mother as a child, you may value your aloneness as your precious possession (Winnicott). I have observed that creative people need to be alone. For those who fear to be alone, it is a great suffering, for those who like to be alone it is a great relief to not be around people all the time.
Thank you for sharing with us such a thoughtful answer s. Béatrice Marianne Ewalds-Kvist
Well, the world goes to an era of loneliness. The population increases but values (friendship, relationships, family) decrease. I believe that the cure is family and good friends + learning to live lonely.
Yes, that is really such a healthy habit! Thank you Arvind Singh
Loneliness is a feeling that we all experience at certain stages in our lives, such as when you move from one job to another or from one area to another. A person can get rid of loneliness by mixing with others, making new friends, helping others, participating in voluntary work, and reading which is one of the effective ways to spend time in what is useful
Planting trees, living with nature is a good way to overcome loneliness.
I agree! Spending useful, meaningful, and quality time is vey effective and helpful. Thank you Ekhlas A. Hussein
Loneliness can be reduced somewhat through travelling, taking up social work and meditation.
On a lighter note, the easiest way to avoid loneliness is to start watching horror films late at night, within a few days you will ldefinitely start feeling something invisible is continously giving you company.
The best solution is marriage. I think the wife is the husband's best friend.
you should consider seeking help from someone who specializes in treating loneliness... Recognize the Effects of Loneliness So You Can Combat Them. Loneliness can be felt. Studies show that being lonely can make you feel colder than those around you, can increase cholesterol and blood pressure, and can even stop your immune system from functioning properly. Loneliness can also disrupt your sleep. Because loneliness puts your body on 'high alert,' it can make you more prone to sleep problems. Insomnia and lack of true rest can both be a result of loneliness...
Loneliness is a prevalent and global problem for adult populations, and a number of different studies have linked it to multiple chronic conditions, including heart disease, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke, and metabolic disorders, such as obesity and metabolic disease. Is a major predictor of psychological problems, such as depression, psychological stress, and anxiety. Loneliness is linked to overall morbidity and mortality in adult populations.
Read more on the following the link
Article The complexity of loneliness
"It's dangerous, as a member of a social species, to feel isolated, and our brain snaps into self-preservation mode. That brings with it some unwanted and unknown effects on our thoughts and our actions toward others."
Prof. John Cacioppo
“Loneliness is the human condition. Cultivate it. The way it tunnels into you allows your soul room to grow. Never expect to outgrow loneliness. Never hope to find people who will understand you, someone to fill that space. An intelligent, sensitive person is the exception, the very great exception.” Janet Fitch
I agree with you Djaafar Zemali! Seeking professional help is advisable and help prevent further deterioration.
Performing activities that are purposeful and meaningful to you helps overcome loneliness. Thank you Fahim Shaltout.
If you are bored when you are alone, then you are in bad company and vice versa, if you are not bored when you are alone, you will never feel lonely.
Humans are very social and need human connections in their lives. Make sure to connect in real life. We can decrease our loneliness if we build stronger in-person connections.
One can foster intimate relationships by developing [the relationship with] a trusted person, who you can trust and who can trust you, ”explains.“ You can enhance relational bonding by sharing good times with friends and family ”without any distractions.
Trustful relationships are important! Thank you Djaafar Zemali
Human being are social beings by nature! Thank you Chuck A Arize
We do feel lonely at times. The best way to deal with your loneliness is to connect and reconnect with the ones who are worthy and mean a lot!!! or we can try to engross in some deep reading. Lastly, why not should we enjoy our solitude bliss? I feel we are more creative then.
There are I.A.Bunin (Russian writer) method, described by him in poem "Loneliness" (1903):
...
Well! I’ll flood the fireplace, I’ll drink ... It would be nice to buy a dog.
The first and third components are very productive, but the second I not advise to anyone.
Thank you Vadim S. Gorshkov for your contribution to the discussion.
How to overcome loneliness?
The person needs to stop thinking alone but instead - involve / interact / networking more with others surrounding him / her.
You can also see link below:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-success/201010/the-cure-loneliness
E.g. in the context of a lonely PhD journey, the lonely student just can't think alone all the time especially when s/he is stuck & panic, but instead s/he should talk to the supervisor, attend colloquiums / research conference, networking with other researchers including those in RG who have similar interests etc. Because interacting with other people external from us can prompt us to think-out-of-the-box easily as we human beings are an open system.
We may read various philosophical books, may listen music, may engage us in research, various creativities and in social activities.
I agree! Social interaction and communication is a key. Thank you Tapas Chatterjee
Practice self-kindness. In difficult moments, it's essential to practice self-kindness. Blaming ourselves when we feel lonely is not helpful. So limit your hurtful self-talk, engage in some self-care, and just generally give yourself a break. Perhaps a walk in nature or a day at the spa may be helpful for getting yourself into a self-kindness mood.
Do more things with people. Engaging in face-to-face social interactions tends to improve our mood and reduce depression. Activities that involve other people — such as attending religious services or engaging in sports — are also likely to have positive effects on our mental health. So find ways to be around people more.
The question is also whether other people need to a person? Sometimes loneliness is not a problem, but a choice or habit. If a person cannot live alone, then yes, he needs to do something. But there are people who are arranged differently and do not allow anyone enter into their world. And there are lot of them.
Try talking to new people. A growing body of research suggests that even seemingly trivial interactions with strangers — like chatting with a barista or cashier — may be able to keep loneliness at bay by helping us feel more socially connected. So reach out to other human beings to say hello, ask them how they are, or chat about whatever's on your mind. These small acts can make a big difference and help you reduce feelings of loneliness.
Treating loneliness is first by knowing the reasons that led the person to this behavior, and secondly by involving the person in various social events, or inviting him to travel in the form of tourist groups for several days and visiting tourist places so that the person mixes with others and feels psychological comfort because the person is social in nature and loves to live with Others.
You must realize that loneliness is a feeling, not a fact. When you are feeling lonely, it is usually because something has triggered a memory of that feeling, not because you are in fact, isolated and alone. Reach out because loneliness is painful and can confuse you into thinking that you are an outcast which can damage your mental health even further.
3-way solutions:
(a) Resonate with yourself,
(b) See your geometric shadow to understand that you are accompanied by someone, and
(c) See your image in a plane mirror --- your best friend --- who never laughs when you weeps.
Humans have various emotions, such as "joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure".
These emotions have a “positive role”.
Loneliness also has a positive role.
It is a role as an energy that encourages the actions you need to live happily.
In other words, it has the role of giving you the action you need to feel connected.
The world loneliness is not to be confused with the phrase "being alone." Loneliness arises out of a need to be perhaps with someone or be doing something. This person may be somewhat needy. Being alone refers to a choice that the person chooses to be alone and is okay with it. There is not a pressing need to be surrounded by activity or people and there is contentment in being alone with oneself perhaps enjoying the things they are doing such as reading, exercise, meditation, walking, music, nothing, and so on. This person is perfectly content with being alone or being with someone, but never lonely.
FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON HELPING OTHERS INSTEAD OF FOCUSING IT ON YOUR OWN FEELINGS.
Loneliness is valuable feeling as other emotions. In my opinion, the enemy of loneliness is resilience. One should force himself/herself (if it bothers them) to spend time with people, attend social activities, and not wait other people to call them.
I believe that each one of us feels sometimes the sentiment of loneliness. It is not easy to cope with this feeling, as we have really hard obstacles and problems life.
However, I believe there are some things helping: going out on fresh air and preferably stay and contact with nature (e.g. planting flowers), the physical activity, contact with people (best with good friends), volunteer work (helping others),… With time, we learn some things about ourselves…
...Talking to friends and family is an obvious and easy path to tackling loneliness, but if you feel you are lacking, joining a club or socialising through hobbies or interests is a good way to meet new people and increase social interactions. The Campaign to End Loneliness suggests voluntary work is particularly good, as it forges connections as well as feeling worthwhile in its own right.
Feeling lonely is that something triggered the memory of this feeling, not because you're really isolated and lonely. The brain is designed to pay attention to pain and danger, which includes painful scary feelings. Thus the unit gets our attention. But then the brain tries to understand the feeling. Why do I feel this way? Is it because no one loves me? Because I'm a loser? Because they all mean? Theories about why you can feel lonely can become confused with facts. Then it becomes a bigger problem, so you just have to realize that you are experiencing this feeling and accepting it without reaction.
Treat it as a feeling you need to overcome it by making yourself busy. Do a lot of activities in the daylight in order when the night comes you fall sleep directly without suffering from insomnia.
Thank you for your detailed answers and elaboration Shurooq Talab Jaafar
Remember loneliness is temporary. Even if you're feeling lonely now, that doesn't mean you'll always feel lonely or you'll never find a community that nourishes you.
Being alone is sometimes good and healthy. It provides one with the opportunity to contemplate on important matters of life. However, being instinctively social, man needs to associate with others because s/he needs to share values and interests and to reveal his/her thoughts and feelings. Therefore, loneliness is sad, but aloneness is an opportunity to find ways of winning others with love and tenderness.
Free time should be utilized with something useful! Thank you G Srinivasarao
Overcome loneliness by reading, reading and writing stories and articles.
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