The 7 types of loneliness, and their causes and characteristics.

Let's see how the different ways in which we can feel lonely are classified.

Loneliness is a problem that can become serious. In fact, it is known to go hand in hand with many other problems, such as the weakening of support networks provided by society, and the adoption of unhealthy lifestyles.

In this article we will see what are the main types of lonelinessand in what ways they manifest themselves, something useful to know how to identify and distinguish the factors that trigger them, as well as their psychological implications.

The main types of loneliness

This is a brief summary of the types of loneliness we may encounter in our lives. Mind you, these are not mutually exclusive categories, so some may overlap with each other.

1. Contextual loneliness

Loneliness does not always extend to all areas of life; sometimes it is limited to a single context.. This means, among other things, that it is possible to predict when a situation of loneliness will begin and when it will end.

For example, someone who has no friends or acquaintances at school or at work may experience loneliness there, even if elsewhere he or she feels the closeness of many loved ones.

2. Transitory loneliness

It is important to take into consideration the time factor when analyzing the types of loneliness that people experience. In the case of transitory loneliness, it appears in specific situations and does not last much longer than a day..

For example, when a conflict appears in a love relationship or friendship, the feeling may arise that there is a barrier that separates us from the other, or that has revealed a facet of his or her personality that makes us rethink if we know him or her.

3. Chronic loneliness

This type of loneliness does not depend on a specific context or situation, but is perpetuated over time, It is maintained in different areas of a person's life.. However, this does not mean that it will never disappear or that we cannot do anything to make it disappear; given the right conditions, it can weaken until it disappears, but this is more difficult than in other more circumstantial types of loneliness.

On the other hand, it should be kept in mind that the difference between chronic and transitory loneliness is only a matter of degree, and there is no clear separation between them..

That is why, for example, we can find cases in which a person is subjected to an extremely monotonous life consisting of only one type of environment, and feels lonely: in this case, it would not be very clear whether it is chronic or transient, since we can understand that he is stuck in a moment of his life that repeats itself over and over again day after day.

4. Self-imposed loneliness

There are cases in which loneliness is the consequence of an isolation that one has decided to use as a defining element of one's own life. For example, people who are afraid of being let down by friends or loved ones, and who develop misanthropic attitudes.and who develop misanthropic attitudes or, in general, mistrust towards others.

In some cases, this form of solitude can also appear for religious reasons, such as the will to devote oneself to a life of dedication to one or more gods, without embracing feelings of hostility towards other people.

5. Imposed solitude

Imposed loneliness is the consequence of a series of material deprivations to which the person is subjected, against the will of the latter. The inability to have normal and sustained relationships leads to a feeling of isolation, a feeling that corresponds to objective facts, such as the lack of free time or the fact of living in a very small place and hardly leaving it.

This is one of the most common types of loneliness.The fact that there are many factors that can come between a person and the simple fact of meeting new people, both material (lack of coincidence in time and space) and psychological (lack of social skills, extreme shyness, etc.).

On the other hand, the fact that loneliness is imposed by others does not mean that the existence of this emotion is the target of the measures imposed on the sufferer. For example, it can be caused by very demanding working hours, where the important thing is to make money.

6. Existential loneliness

Existential loneliness is very different from the other types of loneliness, because it is influenced relatively little by the quality and quantity of the interactions we have with other people. It is rather a state in which the emotion of loneliness is mixed with the existential doubt of what we live for and what exactly it is that connects us to others.

If self-awareness is a subjective, private experience that cannot be shared, our existence can come to be perceived as something radically separate from our environment and those who inhabit it. radically separate from our environment and those who inhabit it..

On the other hand, the absence of a meaning for one's own life can contribute to the feeling of being disconnected from the rest of the cosmos. In other words, it is an experience that usually generates discomfort or uneasiness, and that cannot be coped with by trying to make more friends or meeting more people..

7. Psychopathological loneliness

Psychopathological loneliness can be a mixture of the previous ones, but in this case it is characterized by being associated with a deterioration of the person's mental health, or directly by the expression of a psychiatric disorder. For example, it is typical in cases of schizoid personality disorder.

Bibliographical references:

• Cacioppo, J.; Hawkley, L. (2010). "Loneliness Matters: A Theorectical and Empirical Review of Consequences and Mechanisms". Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 40 (2): 218–227.
• Duck, S. (1992). Human relations. Londres: Sage Publications.
• Jaremka, L.M., Andridge, R.R., Fagundes, C.P., Alfano, C.M., Povoski, S.P., Lipari, A.M., Agnese, D.M., Arnold, M.W., Farrar, W.B., Yee, L.D. Carson III, W.E., Bekaii-Saab, T., Martin Jr, E.W., Schmidt, C.R., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (2014). Pain, depression, and fatigue: Loneliness as a longitudinal risk factor. Health Psychology, 38, 1310-1317.
• Sum, Shima; Mathews, R. Mark; Hughes, Ian; Campbell, Andrew (2008). "Internet Use and Loneliness in Older Adults". CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(2): 208-211.
• Zhou, Xinyue; Sedikides, Constantine; Wildschut, Tim; Gao, Ding-Guo (2008). "Counteracting Loneliness: On the Restorative Function of Nostalgia". Psychological Science. 19 (10): 1023–9.