Loneliness is the pain of being alone and is damaging. Solitude is the joy of being alone and is empowering.

Loneliness vs Solitude

Solitude removes us from the mindless humdrum of everyday life into a higher consciousness which reconnects us with ourselves and our deepest humanity.By setting aside dependent emotions and constraining compromises, we free ourselves up for problem solving, creativity, and spirituality.

Solitude

Loneliness can be defined as a complex and unpleasant emotional response to isolation or lack of companionship. It can be either transient or chronic, and typically includes <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/anxiety">anxiety</a> about a lack of connectedness or communality.

Loneliness

Lonely people eat and drink more, and exercise and sleep less. They are at higher risk of developing psychological problems such as <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/alcohol">alcoholism</a>, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/depression">depression</a>, and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/psychosis">psychosis</a>, and physical problems such as infection, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Loneliness is damaging

If we can embrace it, this opportunity to adjust and refine our perspectives creates the strength and security for still greater solitude and, in time, the substance and meaning that guards against loneliness.

Embracing solitude

According to a recent study, many people prefer to give themselves a mild electric shock than to sit in a room alone with their own thoughts. Loneliness can be defined as a complex and unpleasant emotional response to isolation or lack of companionship.

Loneliness

Similar ideas to Loneliness

Loneliness

Causes of loneliness

Types of Loneliness