Loneliness is a universal human emotion, with different causes behind it. No person is always happy with himself, and it is okay to feel low on some days. Not all days are meant to be as bright and sunny. But we will eventually deal with our feeling of loneliness and depression gracefully and figure things out. It is just a bad day or a bad month, not a bad life, right?
We all have our bad days. Loneliness is personal. What it is to me may not be the same for you. A severe feeling of loneliness may lead to depression. Mental health is an important asset and should be our priority. I know it may seem that there is no way out of it, but there is.
It is okay to feel low and ponder upon our problems in life. One out of five people does the same. It depends on how we perceive our emotions. Feeling of loneliness can consume anyone and lead to prolonged depression
There can be no specific reason for feeling lonely. Mostly, when anything important to us hurts us in any way, we feel lonely and depressed. But always remember, no one can be more important than your mental health and nothing is as worthy of attention as our mental health is.
Feeling of loneliness may make us feel empty, alone, and unwanted. When a person is lonely, he craves human contact and validation. According to many experts, loneliness is not just a feeling when you are all alone in your room. You can be lonely with a room full of people around you. You feel alone and clueless within yourself, that is what loneliness looks like. You feel a lack a motivation to start something new, or even communicate with your peers.
Causes of Loneliness
There is no definite cause of loneliness. Loneliness can have different causes and is very personal. Some people feel lonely after facing bereavement while others may feel it after experiencing a relationship breakup. Some may even feel lonely after losing contact with her favorite person. Sometimes moving to a new country without knowing anyone there may cause loneliness as well.
We can often be lonely because of our insecurities. We often want to see us at someplace, but we fail to reach that height, and hence we are insecure and it kills us from within. Introverts often fail to tell others about their heartbreaks. This feeling consumes them so much leading to loneliness. They often feel that they are alone and have no one to stand by their side, thus increasing the intensity of their loneliness, giving result to depression.
An increase in cortisol(the stress hormone) may lead to severe loneliness as well.
Some people may feel a constant feeling of loneliness that seems not to go away at any cost. Practically, having peers around you just for an evening or a few days does not help. Overcoming loneliness and depression is a long battle. We call it a battle because it is a war against our demons and insecurities. But just like any war, we can definitely win over it. The process might be long, but winning over it is possible.
Difference Between Loneliness and Depression
Loneliness and depression are not interchangeable terms. The biggest difference between loneliness and depression is that loneliness is a feeling, whereas depression is bad mental health.
Loneliness may feel uncomfortable and it is just an emotional state. Overcoming loneliness can be hard but not harder than overcoming depression. Often loneliness is caused because you feel the loss of a bond or a connection in your life. Once you feel the bond again with your peers, the feeling of loneliness may leave you.
Depression, on the other hand, is bad mental health and more often we feel that there is no solution to it. Prolonged depression can have severe health effects. Taking proper medication and visiting psychologists to have a regular checkup should be seriously considered.
Depression is a complex mental health problem but there is always a way out of it. If it feels tough for you to reach out to your peers, you can always visit a trained mental health professional. They can definitely sight a way out of it and you can again feel the sunshine.
Is Loneliness a mental health problem?
Feeling lonely is not considered to be a direct mental health problem; however, it is indirectly related to it.
Bad mental health may cause a feeling of loneliness. You might find it difficult to talk about your mental health to others thus making you feel that you have hardly anyone in life with whom you are comfortable.
One’s mental health may get affected due to a severe loss in their lives. Mental health often gets worse after someone goes through a trauma. Due to trauma, they often are in a state of shock and feel it difficult to overcome it. This may lead to loneliness and prolonged loneliness can cause depression.
How to Overcome the Feeling of Loneliness?
Reach out to the people with whom you are comfortable
Loneliness And DepressionLoneliness is a feeling which may make you feel that you are a loser, which you are not. You may think that no one can understand how you feel but the ones who love you, and care for you, definitely will. Let them know about the demons that you are facing, and they will try their best to help you out.
Notice your self deflating thoughts
Upon feeling alone and lonely, we often end up pointing out our insecurities behind it. When we feel lonely, we often figure out the conclusions that we must be at fault somehow.
If someone tries to bully you by any means, they are at fault, not you. Maybe you are different from others, but being different does not mean that you are at fault.
Loneliness and depression can lead to severe bad health. Treat your mental health with a lot of attention. Do whatever makes you happy , but make sure that you are at peace. If you feel consumed by any sort of problems, think a possible solution for it and be at peace. After all, with good mental health, you can achieve whatever you want. Pay attention to your mental health for your sake.
Also Read: Relationship Between Genetics and Depression
