Loneliness is an unpleasant feeling in which a person feels a strong sense of emptiness and solitude resulting from inadequate levels of social relationships. However, it is a subjective experience. Loneliness has also been described as social pain — a psychological mechanism meant to alert an individual of isolation and motivate her/him to seek social connections.

Contents

• 1 Common causes
• 2 Typology
  • 2.1 Emotional vs social isolation
  • 2.2 Transient vs. chronic
• 3 Distinction from solitude
• 4 As human condition
• 5 Rates of loneliness
• 6 In modern society
• 7 Effects
• 8 Treatments and prevention
• 9 See also
• 10 References
• 11 External links

Adjective

lonely (comparative lonelier, superlative loneliest)

1. Of person, unhappy by feelings of loneliness.
2. Of place, unfrequented by people; desolate.
3. Of person, without companions; solitary.

• (dejected): lonesome
• (unfrequented by people): desolate, desert, empty, unpeopled, unpopulated
• (without companions): solitary, alone, unaccompanied

• Support Groups (9)

• Health: Mental Health: Disorders: Personality: Avoidant (2)
• Health: Mental Health: Disorders: Schizophrenia: Schizoid Personality (13)

• Privatix Clinic
  privatix.fi
  A private holistic clinic with expertise in social phobia, anxiety disorders and pain.
• The Shyness Home Page
  shyness.com
  Links to resources; information about The Shyness Institute in Palo Alto, California.
• Social Anxiety Phobia
  socialanxiety-phobia.com
  Professional help to overcome and/or learn ways to better manage their disorder.

• Usenet alt.support.shyness - news: - Google Groups
• Usenet alt.support.social-phobia - news: - Google Groups