The root of loneliness isn't the absence of other people but an inner absence—you don't have a centered awareness of your true self. Your true self is your spirit, which is infinite and eternal.
A deficiency in the energy of the fourth chakra, or heart chakra, can leave you feeling lonely, isolated and depressed. In this condition, many people seek to fill that emptiness by getting love from others.
Praying, journaling, reading Scripture and even sitting in silence with God can help you refocus on Him and depend more on Him. Having a strong connection with God enables you to cope better with feelings of loneliness by focusing your attention away from yourself and onto God.
Loneliness is God's gift that drives us into relationship and enlarges our hearts to love. Without it, we would never marry, engage in friendships or endure the numerous problems that are natural part of intimacy. Loneliness can also cause us to appreciate the beauty of others in a new way.
What is chronic loneliness? Chronic loneliness occurs when feelings of loneliness and uncomfortable social isolation go on for a long period of time. 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.
Some research suggests that loneliness can increase stress. It's also associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems. For example, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and sleep problems.
People who are lonely often crave human contact, but their state of mind makes it more difficult to form connections with others.
Jesus knew what it was to be lonely! But then He said, “Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me” (John 16:32). Jesus knew what it was to be comforted even in the face of abandonment. When loneliness engulfs us, the first thing we must do is to turn our focus away from what we don't have to what we do have.
When you feel lonely, you get more defensive. You focus more on self-preservation even though this is not done intentionally. Completely unbeknownst to you, your brain is focusing more on self-preservation than the preservation of those around you. This, in turn, can make you less pleasant to be around.
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.”
The 4th Chakra, or heart chakra, is considered the center of the emotions love and grief.
Your Heart Chakra has a vibration that is always aligned to how you are feeling. If you are feeling sad, then your Heart Chakra is too aligned to sadness. When you are feeling sad or experiencing any other feeling you don't have to resist it.
In the case of your heart chakra, it's associated with love and understanding when in equilibrium, says psychic and spiritual counselor Davida Rappaport. But things like stress and emotional pain — usually caused by bad memories, emotions, and/or overthinking — can close it up.
One of the classic examples of loneliness in the Bible was the experience of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19. He had just gained a great victory for God in a fearless struggle over the predominant forces representing Baal worship in the land of Israel.
Prayer for You're Lonely
You have endured way more loneliness and pain than I ever will. I ask You to comfort me, to keep me through this and to lift my head and heart. Be my soul satisfaction and keep me from filling the ache of loneliness with anything that would take me far from You.
Those who embrace solitude, are able to get into a “state of engagement with themselves, to self-reflect, regenerate and discover,” Dr. Adelayo said. “They have mental resiliency and fortitude, which can bode them well in times like these.
Loneliness affects people in different ways, and for this reason there are four distinct types of loneliness identified by psychologists: emotional, social, situational and chronic.
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.
Loneliness raises levels of stress hormones and blood pressure. It undermines regulation of the circulatory system so that the heart muscle works harder and the blood vessels are subject to damage by blood flow turbulence.
Personality traits related differently to loneliness depending on gender. Among women, loneliness was associated with higher levels of agreeableness. Among men, loneliness was associated with lower levels of agreeableness, lower levels of conscientiousness, and higher levels of neuroticism.
People who are socially isolated or lonely may be less likely to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise and more likely to smoke and consume alcohol. In addition, social isolation is linked to inflammation and weakened immune systems.