Existential Loneliness in a Palliative Home Care Setting

Abstract

The data revealed experiences of existential loneliness with the impending death as a primary source. Experiences of being alone in "a world of one's own" were common. The changes in everyday life and the increasingly restricted social interaction because of the illness meant that the patient partly lost the protection against isolation that the spirit of community normally provides. Other situations that had a triggered the existential isolation were, for example, when a patient in need of support was left alone, when he or she was treated disrespectfully or in a way that made him or her feel invisible, or when people avoided contact because of uneasiness or fear. Changes in one's own body and mood gave rise to feelings of loneliness and unfamiliarity toward oneself. When a staff member touched the patient's body in a nonempathic way, this could induce feelings of being treated like an animal.

Men’s strategies for preserving emotional well-being in advanced prostate cancer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…Specific themes found in other research are echoed here, including lack of control over bodies (Chapple & Ziebland, 2002;Kelly, 2008), bodily changes as warnings of impending death Sand et al, 2009), uncertainty and unknowing during the palliative care stage (Nissim, et al, 2012), feelings of social separation ( Koffman et al, 2012) and existential loneliness (Strang & Sand, 2006). Similarly, other research has found that cancer survivors and those living with advanced cancer show an increased awareness of time, difficulty in reflecting on future time and sense of a receding future (Cecil et al, 2010;Rasmussen & Elverdam, 2007).…”

Encountering existential loneliness among older people: perspectives of health care professionals

“…In a systematic review by Hallberg (2004) into older people’s views on death and dying, older people showed a need to talk about existential issues, of time past and time to come, as well as of dying and death. If existential thoughts and reflections at this point are not recognized or affirmed, anxiety or existential loneliness (feeling alone in the world despite having people around) can arise (Sand & Strang, 2006). This suggests a need for further exploration to deepen our understanding of existential loneliness in the caring context.…”

Caring at the end of life: Iranian nurses’ view and experiences

“…Death causes an existential crisis for many people, especially those who are facing a life-threatening disease. According to Sand and Strang [2] , the inevitability of death triggers an existential crisis that involves patients' and families' emotions and perceptions. This leads them to experience existential isolation.…”