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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Origin== Aphetic - alone adj. and adv. Compare a lone written for al one in the MSS....'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Einsamkeit___Loneliness_by_angelsm84.jpg|right|frame]]
==Origin==
Aphetic - alone adj. and adv. Compare a lone [[written]] for al one in the MSS. of [http://books.google.com/books?id=5aI3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1128&lpg=PA1128&dq=R.+Brunne+Handl+Synne&source=bl&ots=mTZc9VIvce&sig=7zwtxMYErN4HuDSZ5INWreAcyW0&hl=en&ei=dor6Tb3FGcODtgeos6G7Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=alone&f=false R. Brunne Handl. Synne]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1598]
==Definitions==
*1a : [[being]] without company : lone
:b : cut off from others : [[solitary]]
*2: not frequented by [[human being]]s : desolate
*3: sad from being alone : lonesome
*4: producing a [[feeling]] of bleakness or desolation
==Description==
'''Loneliness''' is an unpleasant [[feeling]] in which a [[person]] [[experiences]] 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 undesired [[isolation]] and [[motivate]] her/him to seek [[social]] [[connections]].
==Common causes==
People can [[experience]] loneliness for many reasons and many life [[events]] are [[associated]] with it, like the lack of [[friendship]] [[relations]] during [[childhood]] and [[adolescence]], or the [[physical]] [[absence]] of meaningful people around a [[person]] are a few [[causes]] for loneliness. At the same time, loneliness may be a [[symptom]] of another social or [[psychological]] problem, such as chronic [[depression]].
Many people [[experience]] loneliness for the first time when they are left alone as [[infants]]. It is also a very common, though normally temporary, [[consequence]] of a breakup, [[divorce]], or loss of any important long-term [[relationship]]. In these cases, it may stem both from the loss of a specific [[person]] and from the withdrawal from [[social]] [[circles]] caused by the [[event]] or the associated sadness.
The loss of a significant [[person]] in one's life will typically [[initiate]] a [[grief]] [[response]]; in this situation, one might feel lonely, even while in the company of [[other]]s. Loneliness may also occur after the [[birth]] of a child (often [[expressed]] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression postpartum depression]), after [[marriage]], or following any other socially disruptive [[event]], such as moving from one's [[home]] town into an unfamiliar [[community]] leading to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesickness homesickness]. Loneliness can occur within unstable marriages or other close [[relationships]] in a similar [[nature]], in which [[feelings]] present may include [[anger]] or resentment, or in which the [[feeling]] of [[love]] cannot be given or [[received]]. Loneliness may [[represent]] a dysfunction of [[communication]], and can also result from places with low [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_density population densities] in which there are comparatively few people to [[interact]] with. Loneliness can also be seen as a [[social]] [[phenomenon]], capable of spreading like a [[disease]]. [[Learning]] to cope with [[changes]] in life [[patterns]] is [[essential]] in overcoming loneliness.
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_study twin study] found [[evidence]] that [[genetics]] account for approximately half of the measurable [[differences]] in loneliness among adults, which was similar to the heritability estimates found previously in [[children]]. These genes operate in a similar [[manner]] in [[males]] and [[females]]. The [[study]] found no common [[environmental]] contributions to adult loneliness.
Enforced loneliness, or [[solitary confinement]], has been a [[punishment]] method throughout [[history]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loneliness]
[[Category: Psychology]]
==Origin==
Aphetic - alone adj. and adv. Compare a lone [[written]] for al one in the MSS. of [http://books.google.com/books?id=5aI3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1128&lpg=PA1128&dq=R.+Brunne+Handl+Synne&source=bl&ots=mTZc9VIvce&sig=7zwtxMYErN4HuDSZ5INWreAcyW0&hl=en&ei=dor6Tb3FGcODtgeos6G7Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=alone&f=false R. Brunne Handl. Synne]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1598]
==Definitions==
*1a : [[being]] without company : lone
:b : cut off from others : [[solitary]]
*2: not frequented by [[human being]]s : desolate
*3: sad from being alone : lonesome
*4: producing a [[feeling]] of bleakness or desolation
==Description==
'''Loneliness''' is an unpleasant [[feeling]] in which a [[person]] [[experiences]] 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 undesired [[isolation]] and [[motivate]] her/him to seek [[social]] [[connections]].
==Common causes==
People can [[experience]] loneliness for many reasons and many life [[events]] are [[associated]] with it, like the lack of [[friendship]] [[relations]] during [[childhood]] and [[adolescence]], or the [[physical]] [[absence]] of meaningful people around a [[person]] are a few [[causes]] for loneliness. At the same time, loneliness may be a [[symptom]] of another social or [[psychological]] problem, such as chronic [[depression]].
Many people [[experience]] loneliness for the first time when they are left alone as [[infants]]. It is also a very common, though normally temporary, [[consequence]] of a breakup, [[divorce]], or loss of any important long-term [[relationship]]. In these cases, it may stem both from the loss of a specific [[person]] and from the withdrawal from [[social]] [[circles]] caused by the [[event]] or the associated sadness.
The loss of a significant [[person]] in one's life will typically [[initiate]] a [[grief]] [[response]]; in this situation, one might feel lonely, even while in the company of [[other]]s. Loneliness may also occur after the [[birth]] of a child (often [[expressed]] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression postpartum depression]), after [[marriage]], or following any other socially disruptive [[event]], such as moving from one's [[home]] town into an unfamiliar [[community]] leading to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesickness homesickness]. Loneliness can occur within unstable marriages or other close [[relationships]] in a similar [[nature]], in which [[feelings]] present may include [[anger]] or resentment, or in which the [[feeling]] of [[love]] cannot be given or [[received]]. Loneliness may [[represent]] a dysfunction of [[communication]], and can also result from places with low [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_density population densities] in which there are comparatively few people to [[interact]] with. Loneliness can also be seen as a [[social]] [[phenomenon]], capable of spreading like a [[disease]]. [[Learning]] to cope with [[changes]] in life [[patterns]] is [[essential]] in overcoming loneliness.
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_study twin study] found [[evidence]] that [[genetics]] account for approximately half of the measurable [[differences]] in loneliness among adults, which was similar to the heritability estimates found previously in [[children]]. These genes operate in a similar [[manner]] in [[males]] and [[females]]. The [[study]] found no common [[environmental]] contributions to adult loneliness.
Enforced loneliness, or [[solitary confinement]], has been a [[punishment]] method throughout [[history]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loneliness]
[[Category: Psychology]]