Part personal narrative about loneliness, part brief reflection on the strange sociology of why we are so afraid to answer the door and smile at strangers.
I can totally relate to this, the feeling of being lonely as the world goes on around you. When I moved back home after college, for years, I struggled to really find anyone to call a friend. Just know that with the downs come the ups and that's the beauty of life (sorry I know thats probably cliche and cringe lol). Anyways, enjoyed this!
“Death by a thousand cuts” is a good description of social rejection. But your piece just inspired me to get out of the house and find a stranger to talk to at the park. Thanks!
I live in Rhode Island. Reading this was like reading the thoughts in my own brain. I went through a breakup in November 2022, and even before that, I felt sad, and increasingly lonely. There have been times. where I've driven to the shoreline on instinct. Reading this post, I thought about how strange it is that we're both so incredibly lonely and feeling lost, putting our feet in the water on coasts not that far apart. It made me think about how many of us there must be out there. Isolated and lonely, with infinite ability to connect through technology or in person, but unable to do it.
fwiw, recent research shows that loneliness is a self-perpetuating issue. Loneliness actually changes your brain chemistry to be far more likely to perceive behavior as rejection.
It explains why this issue has skyrocketed since the pandemic.
I can totally relate to this, the feeling of being lonely as the world goes on around you. When I moved back home after college, for years, I struggled to really find anyone to call a friend. Just know that with the downs come the ups and that's the beauty of life (sorry I know thats probably cliche and cringe lol). Anyways, enjoyed this!
this is great
Thank you for reading!
“Death by a thousand cuts” is a good description of social rejection. But your piece just inspired me to get out of the house and find a stranger to talk to at the park. Thanks!
I live in Rhode Island. Reading this was like reading the thoughts in my own brain. I went through a breakup in November 2022, and even before that, I felt sad, and increasingly lonely. There have been times. where I've driven to the shoreline on instinct. Reading this post, I thought about how strange it is that we're both so incredibly lonely and feeling lost, putting our feet in the water on coasts not that far apart. It made me think about how many of us there must be out there. Isolated and lonely, with infinite ability to connect through technology or in person, but unable to do it.
fwiw, recent research shows that loneliness is a self-perpetuating issue. Loneliness actually changes your brain chemistry to be far more likely to perceive behavior as rejection.
It explains why this issue has skyrocketed since the pandemic.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-loneliness-reshapes-the-brain-20230228/