Over the past half century, society has become more isolating each and every decade. Particularly with the advent of the various technologies that originally may have been made to help bring us together, but over time have done the opposite. This can be said of the television and now to video games and of course social media.
It also doesn’t help that as couples pair off these days, they tend to dissociate with their former single friends for other married couples and “family time.” This can leave many of those single friends without anyone to rely on for emotional and physical connection.
And while we are all lonely from time to time, chronic loneliness can cause severe depression, suicidal thoughts, and lead to drug and alcohol dependencies among other thins. These types of problems don’t occur in most cultures and societies because in other countries family is much more not just a bigger priority but families will live together in the same house for their entire lives. In fact, America is one of the few countries where single people actually live in their own dwellings.
In a post from Collective Evolution, these issues and more are tackled and hopefully some solutions proposed to this growing epidemic of loneliness:
“Loneliness: A Health Problem That Could Be Deadlier Than Obesity, Study Says
If we see that our society has been slowly disintegrating over hundreds of years, then it becomes incumbent upon us as a society (if we can still even identify ourselves with our ‘society’) to take measures to remedy this situation. What those measures might be, though, given how things seem to be trending, is a matter of great conjecture.
On Being Alone
One approach is to first acknowledge that Western society’s emphasis on the individual is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I believe that the development of personal integrity, creativity, and autonomy is a critical step in the evolution of human consciousness. Learning how to be alone with oneself is a part of that process. In his work entitled Pensées, French philosopher Blaise Pascal observed that “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
As evidenced by Eastern gurus and mystics, one can be perfectly content in isolation. This can be greatly facilitated by the practice of meditation and other such methods that give us a direct perception of our energetic connectedness not only with other people, but with all things. In this higher state, the damaging emotional impact of loneliness and social isolation are not experienced.
Our Next Step
Still, the life of the yogi remains for the few. The rest of us, it seems, have come to this planet to interact, share, and love. And we have not incarnated into this dense physical world to get better at virtual relationships. At this stage, we have perhaps gotten a bit too accustomed to social isolation for our own good.
Holt-Lunstad notes that “although living alone can offer conveniences and advantages for an individual, this meta-analysis indicates that physical health is not among them.” She also cites another study that “has demonstrated higher survival rates for those who are more socially connected.” And then there is the seminal 75-Year Harvard University study, where “it was universally clear that without loving and supportive relationships, men in the study were not happy.” The message is becoming clear: we need to come together.
We are perhaps at a larger turning point in our development than most of us realize. It seems that we have reached the extreme edge of the exploration of individualism, and we are readying to move into greater balance with a collective identity. This is not a return to traditional ways, but rather a synthesis of our growth as individuals with the shared experience we are now hungering for. This synthesis signifies the next stage of our evolution.”
While there is not an easy solution for curing loneliness, ultimately one must make an effort when they feel it’s leading to destructive behavior to find ways to resolve your loneliness.
It’s important, not to isolate yourself when you are in a lonely state which seems to be the natural option. Look for meetup groups online around interests you have, going to a local bar for small talk with the locals, getting involved in religious activities, using online counseling apps like betterhelp or even just reading books to help change our current mindset.
To continue the article go ahead and finish reading it over on the site at
Photo By Baha LArtistO