Search results
We all experience feelings of loneliness or isolation from time to time, but when loneliness is severe or lasts a long time, this can negatively affect our mental health. Being lonely for a long time can lead to a negative spiral: loneliness makes it harder to connect, which leads to people being afraid of social situations, meaning it is harder to find joy in life and escape negative thoughts.
Sometimes admitting we feel lonely can be hard. It’s important to remember that lots of people experience similar feelings of loneliness, and that they can pass. Understanding our own reasons for feeling lonely can help identify and manage these feelings. Find out about possible signs of loneliness, reasons we feel lonely and ways to manage it.
- Younger people feel lonelier than older people. When you picture someone who’s lonely, the stereotype is often an older person who lives alone and hardly sees anyone.
- 41% of people think loneliness can be positive. This finding fits in with the ideas of people such as the late neuroscientist John Cacioppo, who believed that we evolved to experience loneliness because it can be useful, even though it’s so unpleasant.
- People who feel lonely have social skills that are no better or worse than average. Sometimes it’s assumed that people feel lonely because they’ve found it hard to make friends and help with improving social skills would make a difference.
- Winter is no lonelier than any other time of year. In the run-up to Christmas, you often see campaigns from charities who help the elderly featuring picture of isolated old people.
Some people describe loneliness as the feeling we have when our need for social contact and relationships isn’t met. But loneliness isn’t the same as being alone. You may feel content without much contact with other people. But others may find this a lonely experience. Some people may only feel lonely at certain times.
We all know what loneliness feels like and feeling lonely from time to time is a normal part of life. But when loneliness is severe or lasts a long time, it can negatively affect our mental health. This report explores what it’s like to be lonely: its causes, consequences and the groups of people who are more likely to experience severe and enduring loneliness.
We want to raise awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental well-being and the practical steps we can take to address it. Reducing loneliness is a major step towards a mentally healthy society. One in four adults feel lonely some or all of the time. There’s no single cause and there’s no one solution. After all, we’re all different!
People also ask
Is Loneliness the same as being alone?
Can a person be alone and not feel lonely?
How can loneliness be experienced?
Is Loneliness triggering?
Do you feel lonely all the time?
Do you have to be on your own to feel lonely?
try talking about your feelings to a friend, family member, health professional or counsellor. You could also contact Samaritans, call: 116 123 or email: jo@samaritans.org if you need someone to talk to. consider joining a group or class that focuses on something you enjoy; you could ask to go along and just watch first if you're feeling nervous.
