What Is Loneliness?
Given that it shares the same root word as “alone,” it’s easy to assume loneliness is just the absence of contact with other people.
As Cacioppo explains in his book (Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick). loneliness is not merely a lack of human contact, but rather a lack of meaningful connection with other humans.
It isn’t about the quantity of relationships, but rather the quality. This is why it’s possible to feel lonely even when you’re in a romantic relationship or have a large group of acquaintances.
155
809 reads
The idea is part of this collection:
Learn more about personaldevelopment with this collection
Cultivating self-awareness and self-reflection
Prioritizing and setting boundaries for self-care
Practicing mindfulness and presence
Related collections
Similar ideas to What Is Loneliness?
Definiton of loneliness
While common definitions of loneliness describe it as a state of solitude or being alone, loneliness is actually a state of mind.
Loneliness causes people to feel empty, alone, and unwanted. People who are lonely often crave human contact, but their state of mind ...
Loneliness is a historically specific condition
Loneliness has become a "plague," and "epidemic" that strikes young and old. But loneliness is not a universal human condition. It is a historically specific one.
Before 1800, the word loneliness was not really used in the English language. Where it was used, it meant ...
Solitude, Loneliness And Isolation
Positive solitude is a state of being alone without being lonely, in a contented manner.
Loneliness, on the other hand, is isolation with a hunger for social contact, something that distorts one’s perceptions, damaging the ability to inter...
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates