What is Loneliness
Loneliness is when we feel we do not have the meaningful relationships we want around us. It is something we can all experience from time to time, throughout our lives, and will be different for everyone.
Although feeling lonely is often connected with being alone, they do not mean the same thing, or always happen together. Being alone, sometimes called social isolation, means being physically separated from the people, and things, that bring us comfort and support. A person who is socially isolated does not necessarily feel lonely.
Some people may enjoy spending time by themselves, whereas others may feel lonely when spending time alone. Some people may feel lonely when spending time with others, perhaps feeling like others don’t understand or care about them, or that they don’t belong or fit in.
Feelings of loneliness can come and go, depending on the experiences we have. Many of us feel lonely from time to time. Sometimes we can feel lonely for long periods of time. When those feelings stick around, it is important to reach out to someone we trust and ask for help. If you are worried about yourself or a peer, it is important to talk to a trusted adult.
How does loneliness link to mental health?
Although loneliness is not a mental health problem, it is an experience that can affect our mental health. When we feel lonely, we may experience low moods and low self-esteem. Sometimes, if we are already experiencing poor mental health, and do not feel understood, this can lead to feeling lonely.
Mental health is made up of our thoughts, feelings, mood, and behaviour. We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health.
Read Young Mind’s guide on ‘How to cope with loneliness’ for advice.
There are many things we can do to look after our mental health and support ourselves when we are feeling lonely. Sometimes, it can help to find meaningful connections with ourselves, others, and the world around us, to reduce feelings of loneliness.
It is important that, when we are no longer taking part in and enjoying our everyday activities, we talk to someone.
The pandemic brought us all closer to loneliness
One of the few consolations of the pandemic is that it reminded us of our need for each other. This Mental Health in the Pandemic study showed that Covid-19 brought the experience of loneliness closer to millions of us. During the lockdowns, loneliness was almost 3 times that of pre-pandemic levels. Connections with loved ones, friends, family and everyday relationships were disrupted, or in some cases broken.
This loneliness wasn’t experienced in the same way across our communities. People with long-term physical conditions, people on lower incomes and people with existing mental health problems were more likely to experience loneliness compared to the general UK population. Older people’s risk of loneliness was influenced by factors like whether they were digitally connected.
The week will be an opportunity to ask vital questions about how we will reduce loneliness as we continue to come out of the pandemic, and live with Covid-19 in a different way.
What can we do?
There is so much you can do during the week. Take the chance to get in touch with a friend or neighbour you haven’t spoken with in a while.
Get involved in the largest collective sharing of loneliness experiences and together let’s shatter the stigma around loneliness. Share your experiences and send a powerful message to others, using the hashtags #IveBeenThere and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek.
Source of information: Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 – Mental Health UK (mentalhealth-uk.org)