Sometimes our feelings are just difficult to describe. In spite of having all things in our life, we just feel incomplete. You always ask questions to yourself like why are you here? What’s your purpose in life? You no longer feel complete, and this nothingness makes you an empty vessel and lonely.

Loneliness is a feeling when we experience a gap in feeling connected. It is a feeling of being alone or disconnected from others. It is feeling like we do not have meaningful or close relationships or a sense of belonging.

It reflects the difference between a person’s actual and desired level of connection. This means that even a person with a lot of friends can feel lonely.

Now the question is why we are experiencing such kind of feelings even though we are socially and digitally connected ? 

Reasons for loneliness 

Loneliness could be the result of several reasons. One of the most important cause for loneliness is the end of relationship. Pain of loneliness is severe, especially after an end of relationship. Loneliness can also be experienced as an aspect of significant loss in life. This could be in the form of bereavement or separation from family. The absence of a person who may have provided purpose and structure to our life is painful and traumatic. In such cases, emotional emptiness can persist even the incident happened a long time ago.

Being in relationship means we are sharing our life with another person. But when relationship eventually end, things get difficult to manage and person gets in a state of loneliness. 

Ending relationship is never easy and things like break-ups or divorce really sucks mental well-being of a person. Stepping out from long-term relationship hurts because this not only alters our life but also forces us to adjust with new ways of life. Getting adapted to changes usually makes us feel empty and vulnerable.

The second important cause for loneliness is a constant comparison with others. The most painful part of the human life is to see how others are having good time with friends and family. A person can make all kinds of judgement about own life often in comparison with other.

Big social circle, money, acclaims and looks are the influential parameters triggering constant comparison among people. Considering other as a fortunate person and creating a picture of their charmed social life in our mind is a common phenomenon.

Comparing ourselves with others in a social world flares a feeling of inadequacy and poor self-esteem. Comparison is the fundamental human impulse that creates a sense of inferiority and subsequently triggers a feeling of loneliness.

Moreover, a lack of social support could be the reason for loneliness. Human being is a social creature and enjoy being a member of society. Social support is a key component of healthy relationship. It involve a network of family and friends where we can share our life and this network is ready to help us in time of need. This give us the feeling that we are a part of community which care for us.

But a lack of adequate social interaction inevitably calls for social isolation. Having small social network or moving to a new location creates a deep sense of disconnection from the world around us.

This initiate a feeling of getting ignore by society, poor self-esteem, self-doubt and subsequently loneliness.

Also Check : Social Connectedness As A Determinant of Mental Wellness

Sometimes people feel lonely just due to a sense of poor self-esteem. People with low self-esteem always believe that they are unworthy of attention. A physical appearance, disability, academic failure, professional failure and relationship issue all prone to develop poor self-esteem. Such people dislike almost everything about themselves and consider inferior in comparison to others.

Poor self-esteem affects confidence and ability to trust on own. The person feels unworthy, shameful, inadequate and incompetent. When we struggle to love ourselves, we cannot maintain a healthy relationship with others. This emotionally troubling condition eventually leads to social isolation and feeling of loneliness.

Chronic feeling of loneliness could be an indication of underlaying mental health conditions.

Yes, having a mental health issue can enhance the chances of loneliness. People with mental illnesses, especially with depression experience significant social isolation. With continuous gloomy mood, people with depression experience disturb interpersonal relationship and start to isolate themselves from society. Feeling lonely is a characteristic signs of depression, anhedonia or schizophrenia.

Some people experience loneliness as a result of social anxiety. People with extreme form of social anxiety find it difficult to socialize and communicate effectively resulting in a stressful and challenging social interaction. A constant fear of being judge, being rejected could result in less social interactions with new people.

Staying away from society ultimately ruin social relationship, which results in isolation and loneliness. Such behavior usually keeps a person away from enjoying with friends and families.

In the current era, digital technology has become a cause for loneliness. When almost everyone’s life is getting display on social platform, getting envy is obvious. People are constantly comparing their own behind the scenes with best and bright highlights of others. This is amplifying the feeling of personal dissatisfaction that unfortunately leads to anxiety, low self-esteem, body shaming, isolation and loneliness.

Last but the most important reason for loneliness is lack of purpose. It’s a human tendency to derive meaning to our life by setting goals and achieving them. Our loneliness may stem from lack of purpose. This reflects that something is missing out from our life and future doesn’t look good. A reflection of our concern about future put us in an extremely vulnerable and fragile state. Once we have feelings of insecurity, our emotional status becomes extremely overwhelming.

Disclaimer 

Mediclin Brain Health’s content is for informational and educational purposes only. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.