It's characterized by constant and unrelenting feelings of being alone, separated or divided from others, and an inability to connect on a deeper level. It can also be accompanied by deeply rooted feelings of self-doubt, low self-esteem, or social anxiety.
Lonely individuals tend to have a pessimistic general outlook: they are more negative than are individuals who are not lonely about the people, events, and circumstances in their lives, and they tend to blame themselves for not being able to achieve satisfactory social relationships.
Loneliness can often be a result of life changes or circumstances that include living alone, changing your living arrangements, having financial problems, or death of a loved one.
It's characterized by constant and unrelenting feelings of being alone, separated or divided from others, and an inability to connect on a deeper level. It can also be accompanied by deeply rooted feelings of self-doubt, low self-esteem, or social anxiety.
There are different types of loneliness: emotional, and social and existential loneliness.
If you've experienced ongoing feelings of loneliness, it can have negative effects on your physical health. It could lead to weight gain, sleep deprivation, poor heart health, and a weakened immune system. Loneliness can also put your body under more stress than normal.
To be happy alone, experts say that it can help to try exercising, spending time in nature, or volunteering. Taking a break from social media or adopting a pet can also help you feel less lonely. However, if you are struggling to feel happy alone, it may be worth seeking medical help.
"Lacking encouragement from family or friends, those who are lonely may slide into unhealthy habits," Valtorta says. "In addition, loneliness has been found to raise levels of stress, impede sleep and, in turn, harm the body. Loneliness can also augment depression or anxiety."
A brain imaging study showed that feeling ostracized actually activates our neural pain matrix. In fact, several studies show that ostracizing others hurts us as much as being ostracized ourselves. We can hypothesize that, similarly, loneliness is associated with the pain matrix.
A person who is socially isolated is approximately 50% more likely to get dementia. Loneliness can disrupt sleep, raise blood pressure, and increase stress levels. A person who is socially isolated, has poor social relationships, or is lonely has a 32% increased risk of stroke and a 29% increased risk of heart disease.
The key difference between being lonely and being alone is emotional attachment. Being alone is a state of being, while loneliness is a feeling. We can be perfectly happy being by ourselves, but we can also be lonely even if we're with a group of people.
Loneliness and depression are closely linked, but they are not exactly the same. Depression is a diagnosable mental health condition characterised by persistent feeling of sadness. Loneliness is a subjective feeling of isolation where our levels of social contact are not as frequent as we want them to be.
Loneliness can affect your health in lots of ways. You may not be able to get out to buy healthy foods - or you may not have the motivation to cook for one. And not getting enough mental stimulation increases the chance of depression and dementia.
Biologists have shown that feelings of loneliness trigger the release of stress hormones that in turn are associated with higher blood pressure, decreased resistance to infection and increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The more lonely you've been over your life, the more likely you are to have conditions that affect your heart health: obesity, high blood pressure, and bad cholesterol levels, for example. And women who are lonely may be more likely to get coronary heart disease.
It is clear that the chronic experience of social isolation escalates the risk of depression and dementias, as well as cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer6,7,8.
Some people naturally prefer time alone and that can be fine. Roughly 50% of the population can be categorized as introverts, meaning they get the most value in life out of time spent on their own.
What happens to your body when you're lonely? “When you're experiencing loneliness, your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, go up,” she says. “Cortisol can impair cognitive performance, compromise the immune system, and increase your risk for vascular problems, inflammation and heart disease.”