Aloneness and loneliness – persons with severe mental illness and experiences of being alone

Abstract

People with severe mental illness (SMI) are often described as lonely and socially incapable -an inability resulting from the mental illness. The aim of this article is to explore experiences of being alone among persons with SMI. The article is based on interviews with 19 persons diagnosed with psychosis who were interviewed between four and nine times over a period of three years. The findings show that experiences of being alone can be identified by two concepts: aloneness and loneliness. The persons in the study appeared as socially able and active in relation to their social lives. However, a social agent does not operate in a void but in interaction with specific living conditions; the experiences of aloneness and loneliness may be viewed as the result of the interplay between the individual and the social and material environment.

Why do borrowers default on online loans? An inquiry of their psychology mechanism

“…Finally, based on the exclusion theory, Leary (1990) demonstrated that people with socialization difficulty feel excluded and lonely. Both people's inability to socialize and social rejection makes people withdraw from social life (Andersson et al, 2015). Overall, H2a summarizes the above effects:…”

“…People with financial difficulties tend to perceive lower self-esteem and have a stronger feeling of inferiority (Gilligan, 2001). Finally, a lack of money prevents people from participating in social activities and leaves them alone (Andersson et al, 2015). Moreover, monetary shortage and the need to ask friends for financial support often lead to social embarrassment and a sense of loneliness (Robila and Krishnakumar, 2005).…”

“…On the other hand, the borrower's subjective strain, socialization difficulty, is also related to negative affects. First, social needs are the basic needs to lead a satisfactory life (Andersson et al, 2015). Emmons and Diener (1986) proposed that sociable individuals are more likely to experience positive moods and feel satisfied with their lives.…”

“…On the contrary, social support makes people feel loved and reduces their feeling of unfairness. Third, the difficulty to make friends also affected an individual's self-esteem (Andersson et al, 2015). They doubt their ability to make friends.…”

Emotional reactivity to war stressors: An experience sampling study in people with and without different psychiatric diagnoses

“…This explanation is supported by the fact that in the current study, loneliness was significantly higher among the two mental illness samples, but did not significantly increase following sirens, and actually slightly decreased in the anxiety/depression group (see Figure 1 and Table 2). Elevated loneliness is common among people with mental illness during routine times (Andersson, Denhov, Bülow, & Topor, 2015). In the current study, it is not possible to know how much of it is exacerbated by the war conditions, but the unaffected or decreased loneliness under the siren condition may imply an increase in the sense of belonging.…”