- What is the difference between being alone and feeling lonely?
- I know a lot of people and I have a social life, but I actually feel lonely and misunderstood. Why is this happening to me?
- This sadness I feel now that I'm young, this loneliness, will it stay with me for the rest of my life? Is it a problem with my personality?
- I'm ashamed to admit that I feel lonely and I don't know how or where to ask for help.
- How can I tell if my child is alone because they like being alone or because they don't have friends?
- What are the consequences for my teenage daughter of not having friends?
- My daughter has always had plenty of friends, but lately she's started isolating herself and we don't know why. What should we parents do?
- What can I do to avoid feeling lonely?
- How can I overcome my fears and low self-esteem so I can meet people and not feel so alone?
- Can technology help me or does it worsen the feeling of loneliness due to the lack of physical contact with other people?
- How can we help a young person who feels lonely?
- I feel lonely and I'm feeling unwell both physically and emotionally, could this be related?
- I've moved and I'm finding it difficult to connect with people I don't know. Could feeling lonely lead to depression?
- If someone tells us they feel lonely, what should we say and what shouldn't we say?
- How can educators detect if a teenager or young person is suffering from unwanted loneliness?
I've moved and I'm finding it difficult to connect with people I don't know. Could feeling lonely lead to depression?
It's normal to feel lonely when moving . It's a time of life transition, and many of the social connections you had before aren't as close as they used to be. Loneliness is the subjective perception that there's a mismatch between the quantity and quality of your social relationships and the ones you'd like to have.
Loneliness can be both a cause and a consequence of other situations. For example, a person suffering from depression may feel lonely as a result of this situation, and vice versa: loneliness can lead to depression. But feeling lonely doesn't necessarily mean developing depression. Other factors can play a role. Furthermore, the perception of loneliness, like depression, doesn't appear suddenly, overnight, but is a gradual process. Therefore, it's important to act as soon as you notice you're feeling lonely so that the situation doesn't worsen.
Here are some ideas of actions you can take to combat loneliness.