{"id":30311,"date":"2022-05-05T00:24:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T00:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humnutrition.com\/blog\/?p=30311"},"modified":"2022-06-13T19:39:22","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T19:39:22","slug":"how-to-deal-with-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humnutrition.com\/blog\/how-to-deal-with-loneliness\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling Lonely? Here\u2019s What You Can Do to Cope, According to Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re wondering how to cope with loneliness, rest<\/a> assured that, truly, you are not alone in these feelings. In fact, thousands of others are dealing with loneliness and searching for answers, just like yourself. Here\u2019s what experts recommend.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Loneliness is a pervasive condition: A 2020 report<\/a> from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) found that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely. A 2018 article in The Lancet<\/a> stated that the problem of loneliness was growing\u2014and that was before the global pandemic that forced isolation and changed the way we live and work. A more recent study released in 2022 has confirmed that the COVID pandemic has, in fact, increased loneliness by about five percent\u2014which researchers are concerned about given that loneliness could impact people\u2019s long-term mental and physical health, longevity, and well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n

You\u2019ve probably heard about seasonal affective disorder during winter, but did you know the spring sads exist too?\u00a0 Several studies reveal that the spring blues are real. Although it might sound counterintuitive, levels of perceived loneliness<\/a> tend to spike in spring and summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

Suffice it to say that if you\u2019ve been feeling lonely, you are definitely not alone. Read on to find out more about why you might feel a bit more blue come spring, strategies for dealing with loneliness, and expert advice to feel more connected if you\u2019re lingering on the lonely side.<\/p>\n\n\n

What Is Loneliness, Exactly?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cLoneliness is the perceived gap between what we want\u2014or feel we are \u2018supposed to\u2019 have\u2014in social relationships, and the actual number of connections we have or encounter,\u201d explains Yancey Grimes, LPC, LCDC, executive director at Connections Wellness Group<\/a> in Southlake, Texas. \u201cIt is interlinked with the concepts of isolation and disconnection and can be experienced even when we\u2019re surrounded by people we know and care about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

Loneliness alone is not a clinical medical diagnosis. Instead, loneliness is a characteristic of depression and, if associated with other feelings and neurochemical imbalance, can be a sign of depression, adds Reena B. Patel<\/a>, a positive psychologist and licensed educational board-certified behavior analyst in San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cFeeling lonely is a personal description depending on what connection is missing,\u201d Patel says. \u201cLoneliness is not the same as being alone. It is when your social needs are not met with positive reinforcement in the form of social exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

So it\u2019s up to our own interpretation of when the shades of \u201cthe blues\u201d related to loneliness get too dark and turn into a diagnosable mental health condition. Anxiety, depression, substance use disorder (AKA addiction), post-traumatic stress disorder and more have all been linked to extreme loneliness, Grimes says. And it can be a chicken-and-egg scenario: Loneliness can lead to one of these mental health challenges, or one of the conditions can increase feelings of loneliness. Either way, this manifests in becoming physically withdrawn from people and feeling disconnected, discouraged, and isolated.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cTwo of the most common words that are associated with the state-of-being known as \u2018the blues\u2019 are melancholy and sadness,\u201d Grimes says. \u201cThese terms are often closely correlated with clinical depression. Major Depressive Disorder, or clinical depression, is a diagnosable mental health condition in which five or more of the following symptoms have been present during the same two-week period<\/a> and represent a change from previous functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n