Understanding loneliness
What is loneliness?
Loneliness is an island. It's isolation, it's separation, it's distance. It's feeling alone in a room full of people. It’s feeling no one cares about you.
Loneliness is feeling alone – not necessarily being alone.
We sometimes choose to be alone – for peace and quiet, or a bit of ‘down time’. We enjoy our own company – without feeling lonely.
Often when we feel alone, we don’t want to be. We crave to share life with others, - wishing life wasn't so lonely.
The good news is, life can be different.
Who is feeling alone? Youth and loneliness
Did you know that almost everyone will feel alone at some time in their life?
While we usually picture the elderly as being the loneliest in our society, research by Relationships Australia has turned that picture upside down.
Nearly a third of 25 – 34 year olds indicated that they frequently felt lonely. They were followed by the 18 – 24 year olds (19%). In comparison, 11% of people aged 70 years or over said they felt lonely.
While there are now more options for keeping in touch with people than ever before (email, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, traditional mail, phone calls, SMS, etc), the downside of being the most connected generation appears to be a failure to figure out ways to cope with disconnection, resulting in more people feeling more alone.
See Youth and Young Adult UC Community Groups
Christmas and loneliness
For people feeling alone, the “most wonderful time of the year” can quickly turn into the worst.
Whether you’re doing it tough money-wise, dreading strained family relations, or the Christmas table is empty for the first time or 21st time, perhaps for you, ‘tis the season to put your head down and wait for all the hype to blow over.
You are not alone in feeling alone at Christmas. Lifeline, a crisis helpline which operates 24 hours/day, 365 days/year, receives a new call every 50 seconds during the festive season. It’s their busiest time of the year.
If you’re lonely this Christmas, or know someone who is, we’ve put together some suggestions on the ‘Help Yourself’ page.
In addition, Uniting Church congregations host a range of services at Christmas time, including ‘Feeling Blue’ Services. To look up service times and locations, click here.
Lifeline - Lifeline counsellors work 24 hours a day every day of the year - including Christmas Day. If you would like to talk to someone please call 13 11 14.
