Did you know that in a country like the Netherlands around 1.6 million people feel seriously lonely. In general, loneliness is seen as one of the most serious social problems. In previous blogs loneliness was also discussed: how to combat loneliness and what happens to your body when you’re feeling lonely. And we know now that loneliness can happen to anyone. But what is loneliness exactly? Did you know there are different types of loneliness? And what are the causes and consequences? 

What is loneliness?

Loneliness can be described as a feeling of emptiness, dissatisfaction with or a lack of connection in relationships and the world. For example: you may have social relationships, but you still miss a close emotional bond with one or more people in your social circle. In this way, a person with a lot of friends and/or a big family can still experience feelings of loneliness if the bond is very superficial and lacks connection. 

There are two types:

• Social loneliness: this is the case when you have little to no friends, because you lost them when you moved away for example.  Also, social loneliness can occur because you have a certain character or if something happened to you in the past such as being bullied or abused. This is purely about the need for social contact and connectedness. With social loneliness you desire (more) social contact and connectedness.
• Emotional loneliness: this is the case when you have a close bond with someone or others, but you are missing an intimate bond with people with whom you can share your feelings. It can sometimes happen when you are in a relationship and you feel emotionally lonely. Emotional loneliness is all about the emotional need or even love.

Causes 

Everybody experience loneliness in a different way. And also the cause differs.  It may be due to the loss of a loved one or moving to another town. You lose the contact. Also personal characteristics or expectations may play a role. For example, one can feel lonely because he/she is being bullied, while the other feels lonely because of a gloomy mood.

Consequences

Loneliness has a similar effect as stress on the immune system and your body. So loneliness has an effect on your health. People who feel lonely are more often unhappy and less often leave the house for social activities, which reinforces loneliness.

Do you recognize this feeling?

Talking about your feelings can help against loneliness. Are you unable to approach a person in your own circle? Do you have no idea what you can do about loneliness and would you like to talk to someone outside of your social circle? Download the NiceDay App and get in touch with one of our NiceDay coaches. They are happy to help you!

“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.” ― Carl Gustav Jung