 Loneliness is a big issue that we may all confront at one point in our life or the other. It is also very widespread in Western countries. According to the Joe Cox Commission on Loneliness of the UK Parliament, over 9 billion British adults reported being often or always lonely. There is even now a Minister of Loneliness in the UK. How about your country? Why is loneliness so bad? According to Healthline, a 2017 review of 40 studies on social isolation and loneliness found evidence to link the states to a higher risk of early death, cardiovascular issues and increased risk of chronic illness, high cholesterol, emotional distress, diabetes and depression. Loneliness is also different from being alone. People who are alone at the moment choose to be alone. Lonely people want to be with others but feel isolated. In this video, I am going to share with you the 10 signs that show that you are lonely. 1. Lack of appetite. When you are lonely, you are likely not going to have an appetite for food. Your mind will be too preoccupied with the thoughts of loneliness. That is why this is so dangerous. It can make you lose focus on the present and worry too much over the past. Trying to figure things out can be frustrating. Was it your fault your kids ran away from home? Was it your fault your wife cheated? Was it your fault you live in a terrible apartment and earn very low wages? Does it really matter? What will the answer do for you? Not give you happiness, I am sure. Why not let the past just be in the past? It is hard enough surviving in a capitalist society. Do you want to further burden yourself with all these problems? What difference does it really make? If it was your fault, so what? Are you going to stay back in time relieving the memory and wondering why you are not good enough? Or would you rather take control of your life? Thinking about a lot of things can make food seem like a secondary priority. When you fail to eat, you start losing weight and because your body is not getting the nutrients it needs in the right quantity, you may become susceptible to some diseases. This is one of the signs to look out for. 2. Taking solace in social media It is only natural to go to social media. It's a free-for-all virtual world where no one is judged or asked questions. Everyone comes around and interacts about different subjects and can, for the period, forget their problems in the real world. It is a fact that avoiding problems do not make them go away. In fact, they only postpone the inevitable. Social media, while a good escape, is not a great solution. If you are taking too much to Twitter or Facebook, you may be feeling lonelier than you thought. Hanging out with friends can be great, but only hang out with friends who are not lonely themselves. 3. Fillings of self-doubt Have you been feeling like you can't accomplish anything a lot lately? This is probably because you are lonely. When you are lonely, you can have a lot of self-doubts. You can end up wondering and wondering whether you can achieve something simply because you feel others don't believe in you. If you feel this way at the moment, say aloud to yourself when you are alone, I am a champion. This little affirmation can boost your confidence rapidly. You are only truly the way you see yourself, and not how others see you. You don't lose confidence when others say you don't have confidence. You lose confidence when you say to yourself, do I really have confidence? Breathe, take a long walk, and remind yourself who was before now. 4. You buy a lot of stuff you don't really need. Have you been having a craving to shop more often than normal? Sometimes shopping for things is something a person can control, which is different from other people. Lonely people sometimes express it by buying stuff which subconsciously they hope can make them happy and keep them company in their loneliness. 5. Busy life cycle. Sometimes when people are lonely, the bird themselves would work, so that they are so busy with work they don't even think about their loneliness. They end up stressed out and fatigued after some time. It is not wise to work through a heartbreak. If you are sad, cry. Bottling up emotions can be a danger to your mental health. If you never healed from your hurt, you can hurt somebody else. 6. Poor sleeping habits. Loneliness can keep you up at night. You may want to sleep and just forget, but it isn't always that easy. You may end up being unable to sleep and end up binge-watching TV to pass the time. If you do this over time, the habit of binge-watching TV at night will form. If you can't sleep, play some soothing sleep melodies from sleep, an app with relaxing sound to help you sleep. It contains raindrop sounds, a thunderstorm, and has varieties of nature sound at night that can give you the feel of nature's embrace. 7. You hang out but stay in your corner. Loneliness is really not about not being around people. It is about feeling alone. When you go to parties, but just feel like everyone is on another planet and you are left out, this can be a strong sign of loneliness. Loneliness typically comes with a feeling of isolation. If you feel this way, you're lonely. 8. Eating too much. Have you heard of the term stress eating? People usually do this when dealing with traumatizing events like breakups, divorce, and so on. Eating too much is also an escape route, just as splurging is. Neither of them will solve your problem. You are wasting your time. Eating too much will only increase your cholesterol levels and make you obese. And then you would feel lonelier and unhappy. 9. Pretending you're happy when you're not. Single people are not necessarily lonely people. Some single people are very happy the way they are, while others are not. If you are single and not happy, but pretend to be, you're probably lonely. A lonely person has something that isn't bright and warm. People can sense this in them, and therefore stay away. If you laugh too loud and necessary, when in a gathering, people are likely to know your laughter was fake. It is not easy to pretend to be happy. Really, smiling is a full face function. If your eyes don't smile with your lips, people will definitely notice. 10. Having an untidy home. Sad and lonely people spend a lot of time breeding over their problems and don't really pay attention to the environment. This means that they are more likely to have laundry piled up than other people. Even if you're unhappy, try and keep your environment neat. If a friend comes to care for you and perceives a stink from your restroom, they may not return. 11. Taking hot showers. According to the psychology department of the University of Chicago, loneliness is the distress the results from discrepancies between ideal and perceived social relationships. Lonely people feel disappointed in their relationships with people and sometimes want it to be better, since hanging out with others can create a warm feeling. People sometimes take hot baths. If you do this a lot, you're probably lonely. Try making new friends if you can. Being with people still beats taking hot showers any day. 12. Wicker immune system. Surprising, right? Besides not eating a lot, which naturally means your body is not getting all the nutrients you need. When you're lonely, you have a weaker immune system. According to a study conducted by UCLA, the immune system shifts focus from virus to bacteria in lonelier people. While the reason isn't clear, the fact is, loneliness has physical consequences that are quite constant. Loneliness isn't fun. Avoid it if you can. But if you can't, at least try eating. Improve your arts. 13. Depression. Loneliness and depression go hand in hand. If you're feeling depressed recently, this might be a sign that you're feeling lonely. With the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that has a large majority staying indoors, feeling lonely is one of the things that is bound to occur. However, if you start feeling lonely this way, there are several things you can do to control it. One is to check on a friend. Don't pretend you're fine when you do, though. Speak to someone regularly about what you're going through and keep a journal if possible. If this video inspired you, subscribe to our channel. We love you.