loneliness

Longread: Loneliness

Most people feel lonely sometimes. Some people feel lonely most times. Some even all the time. Yet most people tend not to talk about their feelings of loneliness. Even though the internet offers an abundance of articles, blogs and websites about loneliness, feeling lonely still seems a kind of taboo subject.

But feeling lonely is a normal human experience. Wherever there are people, there is loneliness. 40 percent of all people experience (temporary) feelings of loneliness at some point in their lives. About 20 percent of people often feel lonely. And 1 in 10 people feel seriously lonely permanently.

Let that sink in for a moment. Of every ten people you know, on average one feels seriously lonely all the time… Chances are you are not aware them. And if you feel lonely, neither are they. Because you can’t see loneliness on the outside. It has nothing to do with your age, gender, physical attractiveness or intelligence.

Loneliness can have a negative effect on your health, both mental and physical. It can even become an existential problem. It’s therefore important that you do not ignore you feelings of loneliness, but instead pay them serious attention.

Despite the large number of initiatives to raise awareness about loneliness, there are unfortunately still a lot of misunderstandings about loneliness.

Existential Reflections aims to battle those misunderstandings, improve understanding about loneliness, and offer practical advise to cope with loneliness. Existential Reflections combines personal experience and expert knowledge to give you the best practical advice.

Dealing with loneliness starts with realizing that loneliness is not the same as being alone. You can be alone without feeling lonely and you can feel lonely while you are not alone. Being alone is something you are, lonely is something you feel. It’s an emotion.

Click on one of the buttons below to learn more about what loneliness entails and how you can deal with it:

Further reading: If you want to read more about loneliness and Existential Reflections hasn’t stilled your hunger for information, here are some highly recommended books about loneliness: John Cacioppo – Loneliness, human nature and the need for social connection, Olivia Laing – The lonely city, adventures in the art of being alone, Lars Svendsen – A philosophy of loneliness..