Many thanks to the over 750 people who responded to the survey on loneliness. One of the questions was about what emotionally sensitive people see as the reason for their loneliness. Fear was mentioned by many of you: Fear of rejection, judgments, vulnerability, and of not being perfect. Some were afraid of their reactions to other people. […]
Many of you have found ways to cope with loneliness. You suggested finding a deep spiritual connection or a meaningful purpose. Some of you keep busy with activities and schedule special events to look forward to, such as going to a movie or reading a special book. Reading was a primary way of easing loneliness (71.6%) and television was seen as a companion by 48.9%.
Hobbies, therapy, volunteering, helping others, pets, creative activities, and not discounting relationships that you have are helpful. Online relationships help (45.4%), gardening, finding pleasure in small things and learning to accept yourselves worked for some of you. And finally, many mentioned meditation and mindfulness.
Almost 60% of you said that you believed that if you weren’t lonely you could be content or even happy. You said you didn’t feel lonely when you were with family, having meaningful conversations, with pets, being authentic, and when you were fully engaged with life. Though some said they liked being alone, most of you felt less lonely when you felt you belonged, when you could be yourself with others.
Independence is highly valued in our culture and at the same time the need to connect with others in a genuine way remains an important part of having a contented life. Connecting with others is not simple and requires complex skills. We’ll look more at loneliness in a future post, as well as the skills necessary to form connections.