Loneliness, it is a bitter thing.
It affects the soul, it eats away at resolve and escape, it keeps pummeling you spiritually until finally, there is nothing but a mere shell of a man left, one bereft of hope, sentiments or resolve.
So, that is why the onset of this condition usually entails detrimental repercussions for the person being affected.
One must strive to the maximum of his/her strength and the absolute extent of his/her abilities in order to circumvent plummeting into Loneliness… and if they do somehow fall into it, then they must take necessary steps towards overcoming this predicament.
Only then will they be able to lead lives that can be considered salubrious and prosperous.
Loneliness, what is it
So, what is Loneliness exactly?
It is the feeling that you have no friends no shoulders to cry on, no one to call one’s own and lastly, no friends.
It can lead you to depression, which in turn is a doorway to a veritable cornucopia of mental and physical maladies.
Loneliness can, therefore, lead you to many different diseases, both of the mind and body.
It should be remembered that Man is a gregarious animal, or mammal, and craves the proximity of other human beings and thrives through communication and interaction.
If by some chance we end up feeling alone and stranded, then this is a natural occurrence usually designated as feeling lonely.
This feeling of loneliness can lead one astray from the normal patterns and rhythms of life and therefore, he or she ends up being isolated from the rest of their peers, friends, and society in general.
While some might call this solitude, it is anything but.
While solitude aims to bring about peace, tranquility and a sense of effervescence, isolation is different.
It evinces loneliness of the adverse and deteriorating sort so that the affected becomes increasingly irritable, misanthropic and antisocial.
Being part of a tribal species, human beings feel compelled to create social connections with each other and these socio-physical relationships are integral for their subsistence.
To be concise, human beings need other human beings and can’t survive without interacting with each other.
The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that with the advancement of technology, there have originated many a number of modern distractions like social media, mobile phones, video games, etc.
that have further mitigated the level of social interaction and gregariousness.
This decline in the level of social interaction has manifested in the form of enhanced social anxiety and loneliness amongst people.
Once people fall into the pit of loneliness and despair, they become prone to turning against their own selves, a most egregious condition for one’s soul indeed.
Indicators of Loneliness
Before jumping to conclusions it is important that you be able to ascertain the various indicators that there exist when it comes to Loneliness.
If any of these indicators are within your being or in that of a colleague, friend, or family member, then it is probable that they might be suffering from, or are at risk of, a profound spell of loneliness.
These indicators can be enumerated as follows for your perusal:
1. Excessive Web Surfing
You spend most of your waking moments surfing the World Wide Web without any specific objective or end.
This is a clear indicator that loneliness has set in and that is why instead of mingling with others in the real world, you are instead spending it on the virtual world with no end to the said endeavor.
2. Feeling Tired
It has been proven through many different studies that those people who experience loneliness and feel alone even in crowds are usually tired and not well-rested.
Due to the perpetual and constant onslaught of loneliness and anxiety that they suffer, these subjects spend most of their time perturbed and lost in negative thoughts.
This leaves them drained, disoriented and utterly defenseless against physical tiredness.
That is why if a person feels tired all the time while also experiencing detachment from society, then it’s quite possible loneliness has set in their beings.
3. Negative Thoughts
It is a common feature amongst sufferers of loneliness; they feel bad all the time and experience thoughts that are on the negative spectrum.
Be it a person, a situation or a place, the thoughts that these subjects experience or spawn are negative, adverse and deeply rooted in cynicism.
This too is an indicator of loneliness and manifests in those that are experiencing this mental disorder.
4. Feeling Distraught and Dreadful
Those that suffer from loneliness are often overcome by feelings of dread and distress in the face of any misfortune or any trivial development.
They become increasingly pessimistic and expect the worst in any situation.
It matters not how much reinforcement or positive feedback they receive, these lonely individuals always end up expecting the worst.
This too is an indicator of loneliness and the detrimental effects that the latter entails.
Why do some people escape into Work to Avoid Loneliness
An intriguing question indeed, why do people escape in work to avoid loneliness indeed.
Loneliness is a disease and as of such, it requires the proper medicine as well.
There are numerous ways through which one can counter the desolating effects that this disorder evinces.
For instance, you can engage in meditation, you can contact a self-help association and you can even go about meeting your friends and family members through sheer force of will.
However, work is perhaps the most effectual of techniques when it comes to fighting Loneliness.
This is a technique that is mostly underestimated or perhaps overlooked when it comes to countering loneliness.
The workplace is the most conducive and ameliorating area when it comes to alleviating the negative ministrations of loneliness.
The main factor is “work”, as it matters not if you are working from an office or are self-employed or work from home.
The point is, Work allows a person to break free from the shackles of loneliness and move forth in the world.
You just have to engage in work and indulge in all the operations that your work entails.
The ways through which Work can allow you to escape from loneliness can be enumerated as follows:
1.Different Social Spaces are Available at Work
When you go into work, you are presented with the opportunity to choose from a variety of various work areas and social spaces.
These work areas are usually lounges of the informal sort, spots for rendezvousing with clients, perch based seats, spots for meeting other colleagues, etc.
The point is, at work, you are presented with various options for meeting people and socializing.
So what if it’s over work-based tasks?
You still get to meet people and mitigate any pangs of loneliness that you might be experiencing.
2.Creating Social Connections that are Spontaneous
One of the greatest predicaments that lonely people dread is that of spontaneous social meetings and connections with unknown and unfamiliar people.
While this is a problem in the informal society, the same isn’t true for your workplace.
That is because, at the workplace, you often end up meeting new people and clients, who you just have to meet as it has been decreed by the management or upper administration.
Regardless of this, you still manage to meet new people, form spontaneous new connections and end up escaping your cocoon of loneliness, if only by a modicum.
3.The Café, the amazing Café
A Café, cafeteria, pub, club or whatever you want to call it, is a central area in almost all organizations where people from the same organization meet up, greet each other, engage in candid conversation and unwind.
It would be immensely salubrious for a lonely person to fully leverage this facility and hang out at the café whenever it is possible.
That is because here, they get to meet new people, discover colleagues that work in other departments, and even probably to make some new friends as well.
That is why it is important to have an accentuated level of interest when it comes to working as it can expunge any lonely sentiments that you might evince quite effectively.
4.Work and the Internal E-Network
While conversing or engaging in any tasks encapsulated within the traditional social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
might be daunting for a lonely individual; the same isn’t true for the E-network that they face at work.
That is because, on these internal networks, various colleagues from different and diverse departments converse on the digital plane.
They discuss projects, work-based objectives, plan for various contingencies and even formulate extracurricular outings as well.
So, in this way, this E-Network also allows you to overcome your morbid solitude.
5.Socialization Complemented by Ample Privacy
Working means that you get to engage in meaningful, nurturing and enhancing operations while meeting new clients and experiencing new things.
But, it also doesn’t mean that you have to totally sacrifice your right to privacy and intimacy either.
At the office, you usually work out of a cubicle, office or a certain demarcated area.
This is your safe zone and this is where you can retreat and take a breather when all seems overwhelming.
So, when you are done with meeting clients, fulfilling work-based quotas, collaborating with colleagues and generally dispensing with all work-related tasks then you can take a breather.
Come back to the confines of your office and breathe out the stress within its homely confines.
This is perhaps one of the best things for loneliness sufferers as it allows for the balancing of privacy with outgoingness.
