Loneliness it’s a emotional experience that is a normal response to change, transition and loss. The National Sample Survey Office reported that 4.91 million people in India lived alone and suffered from loneliness. Loneliness is extremely high, especially in young adults. A study by SCARF found that young adults experience greater loneliness than older people. However, the issue of persistent loneliness as a mental health problem is still not receiving the attention it requires in India. The inability of children and young people to socialize and interact with their peers both inside and outside of educational settings at this time is one of the main reasons why they may feel lonely.
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(Also read: Do you want to reduce loneliness? Engage in Meaningful Activities, Researchers Say )
Popular therapist and wellness educator Divya Robin shared seven reasons why young adults feel lonely in her recent Instagram post.
1. People are used to making friends through shared environments (eg work, college, etc.) and when they leave those environments, they may feel at a loss about “how” to connect with people without having a shared environment.
two. The “digital world” (work from home, social networks) has made it easier to show inauthentic versions of what daily reality is like. Comparing one’s actual reality to another’s perceived reality (what you see on Instagram or from a ZOOM background) can lead to feeling disconnected and isolated.
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3. Pressures to uphold social expectations can lead to putting on a façade, one that is far from the real truth. This facade can keep young adults disconnected from others and ashamed to connect with authentic versions of themselves.
Four. The more young adults discover about themselves—their preferences, values, and opinions—the more they realize that people in their social circles may not meet their true needs. While it’s lonely in the short term to leave past relationships, it’s lonelier in the long term to ignore your true needs for acceptance.
5. An increase in psychological struggles and mental illness makes many people feel emotionally isolated (due to stigma). Feeling like there is no room for one to be real about their struggles leads to disconnection and only sharing “false” versions of themselves and connecting with the “false” version of oneself will only lead to loneliness.
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6. A financial crisis combined with people earning different salaries often leads to a struggle to find ways to have fun, be authentic, and connect with that everyone is comfortable with, and the pressure to be “up to par” as those around you only lead to greater loneliness. and self-doubt.
7. Many people are mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted as a result of “busy culture” (ie, they glorify being overworked and busy). This culture leaves a modicum of energy to authentically connect with those around them or with themselves. Inauthenticity combined with isolation from exhaustion can lead to loneliness.
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