1. The concept of loneliness Loneliness and isolation have some commonalities so some people misunderstood their meanings and interchanged the term ‘isolation’ with ‘loneliness’. However, they are not synonymous. Social isolation is an objective state. This term refers to people having infrequent social interaction, living solo and can be measured through how many contacts a person have (Cutler 2012, p.7). It can not sure that social isolation makes people have the feelings of loneliness. Loneliness is likely to be experienced by those who are not socially isolated but isolation can become one of the factors leading to loneliness.
Unlike social isolation, loneliness is a subjective state. There is no worldwide definition of
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Albeit there are diverse concepts, generally loneliness is a state of being alone or solitude as well as a feeling of separation or detachment. In a word, it is stress feeling and may have impacts on the health and well-being of the person undergoing the experience. 2. The reasons why loneliness is serious health problem to elders Feelings of loneliness can arise in any age group; however, loneliness is the biggest problem for elders due to its serious prevalence and impacts. The increase of the elderly population is one of the major contributors. In 2015, one in eight people worldwide was aged 60 or over and by 2030, older persons are predicted to account for one in six people globally (Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2015). With the number of old people is rising, the media also warned that a ‘demographic time bomb’ is about to explore in a few years (Heathcote and Hong 2009, p. 129) so it is emergent to address loneliness among the old people. Another reason is that older people are particularly vulnerable after having to witness the death of friends or spouse, experience the feelings of the loss of family, accepting reduced mobility or having limited income. Moreover, aging is associated with mental health risks. For many, the phenomenon of loneliness in old age has been highlighted as a global public health concern.
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Social isolation is a social issue where people avoid contact with one society. They are commonly seen nowadays preventing people from interacting with another as well as creating reliable relations, abating any chances for one to realize their destiny. This negative spiral immensely affects the opportunity for people holding a feeling of love and community toward others.
Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being isolated or abandoned. Being lonely is almost always directly connected to relations between people, or the lack there of. Mother Teresa once said “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” In John Steinbecks classic novel, Of Mice And Men, the three characters, Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy struggle with loneliness in different forms because of characteristics that they can’t control. All three characters deal with their loneliness by searching for companionship with others on the ranch and this works out differently for each of them.
Nouwen (1975) describes loneliness as a universal experience that affects even the most intimate relationships. He identifies loneliness as one of the universal sources of human suffering. Some of the mental suffering in the
Loneliness refers to sadness because one has no friends or company or the quality of being unfrequented and remote; isolation. In the story, Kokoro by Natsume Soseki, the protagonist called Sensei "Sensei" rather than his real name. This creates a mental distance between the characters, forming this reoccurring feeling of empty space or loneliness.
In this article Noack explains that the effects of isolation and loneliness is what the Red Cross would call, “the hidden epidemic”. The issue that isolation and loneliness is an epidemic relates heavily on the world due to how humans have the need to socialise with others. For people to not know the damaging effects of isolation is for humanity to fall apart. Also, by the statistic taken in Britain stating that around ten percent of all Brits regularly feel isolated. This statistic was taken in mid-January and to expand on this the article also states “While isolation is especially widespread among older people in Britain and Germany- with the majority of those older than 75 living alone- other countries are facing slightly different problems.”
“Actually, feeling lonely has little to do with how many friends you have. It 's the way you feel inside. Some people who feel lonely may rarely interact with people and others who are surrounded by people but don 't feel connected” (Karyn Hall 2013). Truthfully, loneliness is something almost all people fear. It 's a deeper feeling then just being isolated. It 's feeling distant or disconnected from others. Loneliness is so much more than just feeling secluded, it 's feeling rejected by society, or even like an outcast. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck suggests that there is a deeper meaning to being lonely than just the superficial sense of
Loneliness affects many people in the world. Kids are orphans and are, sometimes, abandoned. Elderly are sent to live in homes. These people are usually lonely because they don’t have anyone to talk to or anyone to care for them. They dream of a better life and a loving family every day.
This study investigated the difference between emotional and social loneliness using structural equation modeling, evaluated whether a two-dimensional or unidimensional conception of loneliness provides a better fit to the data. Second, the extent to which positive and negative social exchanges are associated with older adults’ loneliness was examined. Third, they also investigated whether the structure and social-exchange correlates of loneliness differ for currently married versus formerly married older
According to George Monbiot’s article “The Age of Loneliness Is Killing Us” Monbiot states that society is shifting into isolation and loneliness. Instead of having the age of sharing and socializing. Each and every individual is wanting to stay alone with their own solitude and loneliness. Monbiot recognizes this damaging effect on society and states that how much dangerous it is. To start off. Monbiot claims that we as humans are social beings and always will be “We were social creatures from the start,” by disagreeing with Thomas Hobbes’s claim on our human state of nature “of every man against every man.” Monbiot sees this idea of every person on their own an epidemic of loneliness in today’s age, and how it
Loneliness is one of the most dominant emotions experienced by human beings. Loneliness is often interwoven with despondency, solitude, and unexplainable emptiness. Many argue that people are in fact alone because they are born alone and they die alone. However, birth and death are not the totality of life. Humans instinctively interact with each other throughout their daily lives, often unknowingly such as a simple smile or greeting. People are not alone because they are meant to interact and communicate with each other, make companions in situations when others are not available, and the aspect of being alone is practically impossible around other human beings.
Isolation is the feeling of being unable to experience shared meaning and belonging. The feeling of being unable to experience shared meaning is a major source of psychological distress.
Social Isolation can be defined as a continual lack of contact with other people. Social isolation and chronic loneliness is one of the indisputable signals of mental turmoil, including major depression. It is the withdrawal of self from social roles directly or indirectly among individuals. Loneliness is the feeling of emptiness and desolation. This issue can immensely negative consequences on older persons such as a wide variation of premature health issues.
To conclude, this essay in overall reviewed two journal articles on the topic loneliness in older people. It examined the
To be lonely is an easy thing, being alone is another matter entirely. To understand this, first one must understand the difference between loneliness and being alone. To be alone means that your are not in the company of anyone else. You are one. But loneliness can happen anytime, anywhere. You can be lonely in a crowd, lonely with friends, lonely with family. You can even be lonely while with loved ones. For feeling lonely, is in essence a feeling of being alone. As thought you were one and you feel as though you will always be that way. Loneliness can be one of the most destructive feelings humans are capable of feeling. For loneliness can lead to depression, suicide, and even to raging out and hurting friends and/or
There have been numerous interpretations of the true state of loneliness, but how is it really defined? Would you think that a person isolated in the corner of the room socially withdrawn from the crowed is lonely or someone surrounded by their group of friends playing and laughing around? The fact of the matter is it could be both individuals, there is no telling what they feel on the inside unless you can figure out the signs and symptoms and analyze their background information in history. Some may not too choose to believe it but someone close to you can be suffering from this condition.