What is loneliness, the state of being alone in solitary isolation, dejected by the awareness of being alone being without company, cut off from others, not frequented by human beings, or sad from being alone? I am going to discuss what loneliness is and how to identify some forms of it, so you may be able identify if you are lonely or if you feel someone you know is having the feeling of being lonely.

Think of a time, back when you were a child, when maybe you were playing by yourself, at the time you were completely content and didn’t know or understand loneliness. Now that you are older you know what it is, and have more than likely experienced it. There are many types of loneliness, and there are also several reasons why you can feel lonely. It also does not matter how young or old you are because you can experience being lonely at any time in your life. Common time periods people feel lonely are at a young age(6-19), midlife(35-45), and even when your elderly(65+).

The first age group I’d like to talk about would be a young age(6-19). Your probably thinking why would a 6-year-old feel lonely? Well, at this age a young child like that can feel lonely due to school, he/she may feel left out in activities, conversation, or interactions with other children. Maybe he/she is a shy child or an outcast and has trouble making friends. Just seeing other people have fun, while you are not, can make you feel lonely.

The second age group I am going to talk about is the middle age(35-45). There are many ways a middle aged person can feel lonely, but I’m going to talk about the two most common, midlife crisis and empty-nest syndrome. Midlife crisis is a period of dramatic self doubt. Many people, during their midlife crisis, will act as if they were a teenager again, but soon find out they are not young anymore. They may try to fit in with teenagers, or try hanging out with their teenaged child and his/her friends. When the adult is rejected by the teenager they may feel a sense of loneliness and be very hurt. Empty-nest syndrome is the lonely feeling a parent may feel when one or all of their child finally leave home. A parent may feel lonely in this time because they no longer have someone that needs them. It may take a parent a quite a while to overcome this feeling.

The last, but certainly not least, group I would like to talk about is the elderly(65+). This is a very hard age because many people are not only lacking physically, but mentally also. It becomes hard for people because they can no longer take care of themselves but they are also not able to make decision. Not being able to make your own decision can lead to loneliness because you can feel like no one can hear you or cares about your wants. This is also a hard age because your spouse may pass away and leave you behind with things to still handle. Loosing your spouse can also cause you to feel so lonely and lost that it can cause your own death, and it is very common for a couple to pass away within a few months or years to each other.

In conclusion, I believe loneliness is horrible and almost life changing, and with billions of people on our planet no one should ever have to feel lonely. I hope that this helps anyone that reads it to have the ability to understand loneliness.