Understanding guilt: Definition, purpose, and psychological mechanisms
Whilst often categorised together, loneliness and isolation are two separate concepts. Loneliness is the concept of being by oneself, and lacking company, which can in turn increase our sadness and idea of being alone. On the other hand, isolation is the concept that we’re separate, and separated either through choice or circumstances. Whilst it might sound negative, isolation and the idea of being isolated isn’t always bad. Lonely people might be surrounded by positive people all day, and yet still feel alone, whereas people who are isolated might be happy, as they do not feel loneliness. The difference between the two can often be overlooked, and as a result it can sometimes be difficult to understand and pinpoint whether someone is harbouring feelings of loneliness, or whether they are just isolated from everyone else.
What’s the difference?
Every human on Earth will have a perceived notion of the amount of contact they desire to have. When this desire is not met, loneliness begins to become a problem. Loneliness is the difference between our desired human contact and our actual human contact. The wider this gap becomes, the stronger the emotion, and we can become more strained as we can experience greater feelings of loneliness. Isolation is a quantifiable concept as it refers to the actual amount of human contact we have, and it is more about the quality of our relationships. Many people have small friendship groups, and maybe this is all they need in order to reach their satisfied level of contact. Other people can have a large, yet shallow group of people that they know, which may not reach the level of relationship quality that they need.
Loneliness is an undesirable concept that can lead to other negative feelings, and ridding yourself of these feelings can be difficult but it’s not impossible. Isolation, however, can be overcome, especially as the main reason for feeling negative isolation can be just not being in contact with enough people. The main way that people who suffer from negative isolation can overcome this is by simply contacting, and talking to more people.
Loneliness and isolation are often seen as the same thing due to the fact that they are relatively close in terms of what we as individuals might feel, however most people lack the knowledge in distinguishing the two concepts. Loneliness can lead to social isolation, and social isolation can lead to loneliness, and both can be experienced at the same time. Understanding the difference between the two can go a long way in helping you overcome them, or try to help others, as you should be able to pinpoint which concept you are dealing with, and deal with it more effectively.