Loneliness – An Indisputable Emotional Pain (Perspectives)
Loneliness
To be alone...
To be lonely...
What exactly is the difference?
According to my favorite dictionaries Loneliness is -
- The state of being alone in solitary isolation;
- An emotional pain that motivates people to seek social connections or painkillers such as alcohol and drugs;
- The anxious feelings one have when they don’t feel connected to the people around them.
- A complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation;
- Sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned;
- A disposition toward being alone.
Loneliness is the state of being alone in solitary isolation –
I do not believe that a person in solitary isolation is necessarily lonely. Totally in contrast with the hyper-gregarious person I was before my father’s death, two years prior to my divorce, I have lived after my divorce for ten years in a state of social isolation. Because I wanted to be alone. In isolation I wanted to find and treat the wounds I've been afflicted with since the day I was born. I was completely fed-up with people and their doings. Of coping with stress and anxiety. Of hoping in vain that my circumstances would change in accordance with my preferences.
I was simply - (and arrogantly) - disappointed in God, and especially in people calling themselves 'His children’. I was straight forward angry.
So I know that being alone in solitary isolation does not imply that one is lonely.
Or does it?
Loneliness is an emotional pain that motivates people to seek social connections or painkillers such as alcohol and drugs -
I've sold my businesses - and even closed the doors of some - resigned from all committees and turned my back on society. Or so I thought! I've actually entered another society - of musicians and writers, where I felt understood and loved. But I thought I was simply keeping myself alive, working only 5-6 hours per day – 37 weeks per year – for a boss. The rest of the time I've satisfied my own burning desire to write whatever could make me feel better. Writing was the drug I've chosen; writing, indeed, killed my pain and healed my wounds.
But surely I was not lonely.
Or was I?
Loneliness includes the anxious feelings one gets when they don’t feel connected to the people around them -
Although I was not at all isolated before my divorce, I was extremely lonely in my marriage and even as a teenager in my parent’s home. Knowing, or rather believing, that I was not understood and not considered, forced me into a state of emotional isolation where I regarded my diary as my only true friend. Fortunately at that time I had an intimate and meaningful relationship with God; He was an amazing source of strength and power during that phase in my life.
After my divorce I still had to accommodate my (then, at last, adult) children and a handful of close friends and relatives, though ducking them the best I could without hurting their feelings. I did not feel connected to anybody. Even my lover – who had crossed my path as if he was sent by God – had to use all his masculine skills to pull me out of the depths of purdah.
Even surrounded by people, even while achieving the goals that were set by my Self-Image, I was completely isolated in an invisible bubble. After a very kind person, or organized function, managed to get me out of my bubble for an hour or three, my soul was in pain with feelings of revolt, like my body would be after over-exposure to our hot, South African sun.
Was that loneliness? I thought I had merely a passionate desire to be alone in my own world.
My fellow-perspective, MickeySR, has an extremely interesting perceptive: Loneliness is not about feeling not connected to others, but about feeling not connected to one Self ~ http://mickeysr.hubpages.com/hub/Perspectives-Loneliness-Its-Not-About-Being-Alone
Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation -
I like this definition by Wikipedia. At the end of my 10-year period of emotional isolation I was indeed lonely. I was in fact sure that instead of being alone, too tired to work and write, being dead would completely satisfy my need to be alone. I was ready to leave the planet.
Actually I was consumed by the monster called Depression, the mental cancer that kills people who are not able to come to terms with reality.
Maybe loneliness is depression. Maybe only people suffering depression know what loneliness really is.
*
My favorite dictionary also defines loneliness as ‘sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned’ and ‘a disposition toward being alone’.
Then I must admit that I was lonely for the better part of my life.
But still not sure if I have a clue what loneliness is, I’ve decided to collect the perceptions of others.
- khmohsin – “.... loneliness is actually a state of mind, causing people to feel empty, alone and unwanted.... any kind of loneliness directly effects on human health.”
- happeningeachday – “....feeling of being alone out of 7 billion people in this world.”
- superkates – “.... a feeling of emptiness which can be felt even when you are surrounded by lots of people; feeling alienated, or not satisfied by a treatment you perceive.”
- jackdowney – “... When nobody's around me, caring about me....”
- akrwriter – “... when you have the world and they won't communicate with you.... and won’t share your burden....”
- aanderson2588 – “I think the feeling of loneliness stem from an emotion much deeper, like feelings of inadequacy, anger, fear, etc.”
- fpherj48 – “.... missing departed loved ones – this is a constant source of the feeling of emptiness aka loneliness."
- mhussain – “... when you sitting with your friends and have feelings that you are alone in this gathering...”
- Faith Reaper – “...the feeling that you have no one to turn to and no one who understands you.”
- JusticeBlaze – “... your heart, mind, and soul KNOW that there is something very important missing.”
- Daven Midtown – “... it seems to be made up from other emotions that are driven by other needs, such as melancholy, depression, sadness, pain, mourning, acute sadness, depression.”
- Dana Strang - Lonliness is emptiness, a part of you is missing...”
- Lany Olivier - “...Loneliness: dressed like Greta Garbo, looks like Elizabeth Taylor, making money like Bill Gates, having the flair of Brad Pitt, BUT having an empty dance Card...."
- Adri Pieterse – “... the longing to be considered important by another person."
- Maggie Bennett – “...Having no one who understands you can leave you feeling rather lonely.”
- ahorseback: “... its about the mind and heart-set of standing on a beach where there are lovers , liars, loungers and laughing kids, beautiful, friendly women and knowing you are never going to be like "Them ". True loneliness is about being everyones favorite "ear" and never having anyone to talk to.”
How to prevent Loneliness -
I am sharing only my personal self-defense against Loneliness -
- Being busy, extremely busy, with soul-enriching activities, keeps Loneliness only a word in my dictionaries.
- Only sufficient rest and a healthy diet enables me to be extremely busy. I've learned the hard way that fatigue and boredom are the humus for loneliness and depression.
Conclusion
Loneliness is knowing we are missing LOVE and companionship we desperately need.
Loneliness is without any doubt an indisputable emotional pain.
Self-motivated people who keep themselves busy with soul-enriching activities never get the time to experience loneliness.
© MartieCoetser
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Registered :: 2013-02-14 3:15:35
Title :: Perspectives: Loneliness - An Indisputable Enotional Pain
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Our guest author for February is btrbell aka Randi Benlulu
The idea behind this series called Perspectives is explained in a hub published by MickeySr:
- Perspectives: An Introduction
What we think and how we feel about things is defined, not by the things themselves, but by our perspective of things. Everything that comes before us is filtered through our perception of things...
The Perspectives:

Read my fellow-perspectives' perspectives on loneliness ~
- Docmo: Loneliness ~ Echoes are Louder when Empty
Echoes are Louder when Empty; Loneliness sometimes is a choice one makes. Feeling alone and the accompanying sense of despair can make one deaf and blind to offers of love and friendship. - MickeySR: It's Not About Being Alone
Loneliness is not about being alone... - Marcoujor: Loneliness ~ Through the Years
On some level, fiction can be a healing vehicle for the reader. Unexpected loss can occur at times when the world around you is celebrating a day like Valentine's day. Loneliness is relative. - btrbell: How to Learn to Accept Loneliness
In this article we will talk about ways to recognize and cope with our loneliness. - Bravewarrior: Choice vs. Choices
Loneliness is a state of mind. It differs from being alone. Circumstances can bring about loneliness, but choices are a factor also. Recognize the difference and feed your way out of loneliness.
MY perspective on other matters:
- Perspectives: The Charitable Spirit: Kindness - Gene...
The backbone of a Charitable Spirit is ‘kindness’; the rest of a Charitable Spirit is ‘generosity’.... - Perspectives: Knowing Your True Self – Happiness I...
In order for True-Self to be happy as s/he is supposed to be, True-Self should be IN CHARGE and not a stranger living somewhere in our inside. Meet your True Self today! - Perspectives: Regrets and Hopes: Living in the Prese...
Regrets are all about the Past, Hope is all about the Future. Nevertheless, we have to deal with them in the Present. - Perspectives: Vanity ~ Vanity and Humility versus Pr...
Vanity versus pride, humility versus modesty could be attractiveness versus repulsiveness. - Perspectives: Gratitude ~ Gratitude is an Attitude
The Perspectives of HubPages focus on Gratitude
Recommended hubs about loneliness -
- Can Being Alone Literally Break Your Heart?
This hub discusses the potentially life-threatening effects of loneliness on one's heart as relates to cardiovascular disease. - How Do You Know If You Are Spending Too Much Time Alone
Single or married people spend time alone - How Much Alone Time do you need?