 There is often a confusion between being alone and feeling lonely. After a full day of work, school or other activities, it is normal for the body and the mind to take a step back from others to recharge their batteries by watching a good movie, listening to some music or taking a hot bath. But whether you are spending time alone at home or with some other people, have you ever felt disconnected or isolated? My name is Robin Wallast, I'm a doctor in psychology and in this video I will tell you what loneliness is and why you may feel lonely. Loneliness can be defined as the unpleasant experience that occurs when people perceive their social relationships to be deficient in either quality or quantity. Qualitatively because the quality of their relationships is insufficient and quantitatively because they have fewer relationships than they would like to have. Loneliness can affect anybody regardless of their social skills, wealth, popularity or physical appearance and more than 40% of young adults living in western countries report often feeling lonely. Loneliness is a subjective and unique experience implying that there are strong individual differences with some people being more disposed to experiencing loneliness than others. From an evolutionary perspective, the main function of loneliness is to give us warnings that bonding with others is crucial to adapting to our environment. Specifically, we need social groups and human connection to ensure collaboration, protection and social support. Natural selection selected out those individuals who are alone and rewarded those who are connected to others. In this context, loneliness as fear or hunger triggers painful adaptive responses telling us that we need to pay attention to our social needs to survive and to prosper. In other words, the personal experience of being lonely isn't pleasant but it reminds us that we cannot live alone and need the support of others to survive. Scientists have demonstrated that loneliness is harmful for physical and mental health. The morbidity and mortality rates are higher among lonely people and loneliness is associated with greater risk of depression, anxiety, poor sleep quality as well as weakening the immune system. There are different types of loneliness and not all of them have to do with staying at home alone and isolation. It is possible to feel lonely when surrounded by other people. First, interpersonal loneliness may occur when people lose a significant or intimate relationship which can create a strong feeling of solitude that is difficult to ignore. Second, social loneliness manifests when a person is constantly rejected or excluded from a social group. For instance, when the teacher asks students to pick up a group and someone gets left behind. This can create a negative feeling of being invisible in the eyes of others. Third, cultural loneliness may happen when a person cannot adapt, conform or fit to a new culture. This can be experienced by people who have moved to a new city or new country. Fourth, intellectual loneliness may manifest when a person intellectually feels a disconnection with friends, family or other people. Ultimately, there is a psychological loneliness which may occur when someone has experienced a difficult personal psychological trauma that cannot be shared or understood by others. Loneliness has become a public health crisis increasing in our modern society. We live in a world where we are more virtually connected to one another than ever before but yet emotionally disconnected from everyone. As technology grows so does loneliness. People may have hundreds of friends online but they still feel lonely. Social media platforms can give you a feeling of togetherness but if you are spending hours every day using social media mainly as a substitute for real connection, your feeling of loneliness will likely worsen. If you are suffering from loneliness, a knowledge that feeling lonely is shared by a lot of people and there is nothing to feel guilty about. Accepting that connecting with other people is difficult does not make you a weird person. This is the first step in the coping process. Moreover, thinking about what is making you feel lonely may help you to find a way of feeling better. Specifically, what is the type of loneliness you are suffering from or in which situation do you feel disconnected from others? If you have felt lonely for a long time, interacting with new people can be a tough experience so take it slowly and respect yourself. For instance, you can try to join a social group based on your hobbies and interests or find a local volunteering opportunity. There are tons of accounts from teens and adults showing that volunteering helps them to overcome their fear of social interaction and helps them to alleviate their loneliness. In addition, it may sound challenging but try to smile more and make more eye contact with others in general. Studies have demonstrated that such open behaviors increase emotional connection between human beings. Ultimately, talking to a mental health professional can bolster your ability to face this negative feeling and provide advice for coping with loneliness and isolation. In some, loneliness is a serious problem that deserves all our vigilance and most importantly our benevolence. As Robin Williams said, I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone. Thank you for watching, let me know in the comments how you cope with loneliness and if you find this video helpful, please consider sharing it. You never know who might need this. Stay safe and healthy. Bye.