One thing that confuses a lot of people I know is being able to tell the difference between being alone and being lonely. Although these two terms seem like they hold similar meanings, in essence, however, they are very different from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being alone doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that a person is unhappy. A person may have all the support they need from their friends and family and still feel lonely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The famous Ellen Burstyn once said, \u2018\u2018What a lovely surprise to finally discover how \u2018un-lonely\u2019 being alone can be.\u2019\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before understanding the difference between the two words, it is perhaps better to try to look into both of the terms individually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word \u2018lonely\u2019 has different interpretations for different people. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry I know have their very own versions of loneliness that they have experienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People who are lonely usually crave emotional\/physical connection from others. They are mostly sad because of the lack of emotional intimacy with other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to researchers, people who are lonely usually have poor socializing skills and often suffer from depression. They do not enjoy the feeling of being isolated from others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many causes that might trigger a person\u2019s feeling of loneliness. One such event could be the sudden demise of someone close or moving to a new city all alone. Fallouts with friends or going through a breakup may also cause a person to be lonely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other events may include depression. Depressed people often tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the world and the sudden feeling of isolation may cause them to feel lonely. This may also work the other way round where loneliness causes a person to be depressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People with very low self-esteem generally feel like they do not deserve attention from others, or that people disregard them easily. Their lack of confidence makes them believe the worst things about themselves which often leads to seclusion and therefore loneliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another major cause of loneliness can be a person\u2019s overall personality. If he\/she is an introvert, chances are that their lack of social skills drives them to loneliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Loneliness has its own set of disadvantages that are especially related to a person\u2019s mental and physical health. Some of them include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being alone on the other hand means being in solitude. These people genuinely enjoy and thrive in their own company. It is not like they do not enjoy the company of other people. They just prefer to be alone for the sake of their happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes people just prefer to be alone because they want to get to know themselves a little better. For, you can only find true growth when you are fighting your battles alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others probably just love their me-time a bit more than spending time with friends, family or strangers. Maybe, it is the only time of the day where they get to unwind and just be by themselves without being bothered by anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not to mention, it may also allow them to reflect upon their life. This is why switching off your phone and staying away from social media for a while can be a much-needed break for people who are addicted to screen time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of people would rather sit at home with a good book or spend their time learning new crafts at home. So this really gives you a chance to go all out and be creative from the comfort of your home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Far away from all the chaos, in your alone time, you can actually be more focused and get those creative juices flowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another key factor here is that being alone can actually give you the time to think things through. Therefore, if you are having a fight with someone, it is perhaps better to take some time off and focus on yourself until you are ready to be in each other\u2019s company again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being alone really has its own set of advantages. The first being that it makes people more independent and confident. One can be more independent by not only living alone at home but also by going out for solo outings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will also enable them to boost their confidence if they already struggle from being extra anxious in public. You may think of it as a form of exposure therapy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n People also stay alone when they want to master a new hobby or learn the art of cooking. Imagine making yourself grand dishes every day. Who wouldn\u2019t want a life like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, the choice of being alone mostly comes down to a person\u2019s preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although people often end up defining loneliness as being in solitude, it is in fact not the case. Some people feel lonely even when they are in the midst of a bunch of people at a get-together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solitude on the other hand is a voluntary decision of an individual. These people will definitely be present at parties or gatherings but will balance it out with their need of being alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the points to take note of in case you\u2019re still confused about the terms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To conclude, wanting to be alone is one\u2019s own personal preference. So, the next time you see someone prioritizing their option of wanting to be alone, do not immediately jump to a conclusion thinking that since they are lonely and sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know it is hard to believe but some people just tend to thrive solo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo by Austin Mabe<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One thing that confuses a lot of people I know is being able to tell the difference between being alone and being lonely. Although these two terms seem like they hold similar meanings, in essence, however, they are very different from each other. Being alone doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that a person is unhappy. A person […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21325,"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21323\/revisions\/21325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myultimateliving.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Being Lonely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Causes Loneliness?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Disadvantages of Being Lonely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Being Alone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Causes a Person to Be Alone?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So What\u2019s The Difference Between The Two?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n