Four Themes: Loneliness
Loneliness was the next topic I looked into for this presentation as at this point I am currently struggling with a lot of loneliness and wanted to research it for myself anyways so why not present my findings? And where better to start my search than on the NHS website?
NHS (2021). Get help with loneliness. [online] NHS.uk. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelings-and-symptoms/feeling-lonely/.
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Loneliness is an issue that can affect us all, young or old, at any point in our lives. We might live in a busy city or a rural location, on our own or with others, and still, feel isolated.
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You should not blame yourself for feeling like you are struggling, now or at any other time.
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Loneliness has no common cause. Sometimes it can be triggered by a life event or change in the situation, or it may not be triggered by anything at all.
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While loneliness is a feeling we can all relate to, sometimes admitting we feel lonely is much harder.
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Sometimes it can feel easier to reach out to someone else who may be feeling lonely.
www.psychologytoday.com. (n.d.). The Biology of Loneliness | Psychology Today. [online] Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-gravity-weight/202003/the-biology-loneliness.
After Looking at the NHS page that didn't do much but explain what loneliness is I wanted an answer to the question: "What are the biological reasons for why we feel lonely?"
Now, I could have investigated how to get over loneliness however that was boring, so I was curious what the biological reasons why we feel this way are:
The article starts by her quoting the following - Loneliness is a “sorrowing over aloneness.” (Mendel son, Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 1990) Wiesel-Barth, who writes of the "geography of deep protracted loneliness,”
She then mentions a religious quotation (Christian?) Genesis 2:18 in which God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper who is right for him.” this could mean that in the minds of those who believe in this faith, loneliness is a feeling given by god to encourage man to be social
Significantly, we humans are “meaning-making creatures” in that we perceive social relationships “even where no objective relationship exists,” such as between a reader and an author or even with characters we see on television. (Hawkley and Cacioppo, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2010.) Our need for social relationships is so strong--some would call it a "biological need“
Loneliness is more often related to relationship quality rather than quantity such that people not only need the physical presence of another but also “mutual value, trust, communication, and collaboration toward common goals.”
Scott-Mumby, P.K. (2017). Dealing with Loneliness Is Just As Toxic As Smoking and Obesity. [online] Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby. Available at: https://alternative-doctor.com/dealing-with-loneliness/
I found this graph showing the correlation between age and loneliness which shows that more young people “feel cut off and lonely than old people.”
Social media is a huge contributor to this in young people nowadays especially when they see “all those exciting “other lives” they are seeing.”
To me that links most likely to romantic connections and the loneliness of not having love after seeing others in it.
Wolov, J. (n.d.). What Causes Romantic Loneliness And 8 Ways To Overcome It. [online] The Roots Of Loneliness Project. Available at: https://www.rootsofloneliness.com/romantic-loneliness#:~:text=Romantic%20loneliness%20can%20occur%20from%3A%201%20A%20lack
The thought of experiencing loneliness while you’re in a relationship seems contradictory since we (wrongly) assume that only single folks are lonely. Once we partner up or commit to a relationship, we think our lonely days are over. But relationships don’t always keep us from feeling lonely. The reason for this is simple: Being in a relationship does not necessarily mean we are fulfilled by it. There are plenty of people who have a partner but still struggle with feeling lonely.
Where loneliness is the desire to have more social connections than one currently has, romantic loneliness is specific to wanting a greater amount of romantic connection with a partner than a person is receiving.
The root cause of romantic loneliness is feeling the lack of a strong, intimate bond between one or both partners.
loneliness might still develop if a relationship is unsatisfying. Another study found that 40% of people sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful.