The key to turning your mood around? Adjusting your social lens to one that’s more positive.Įasier said than done, right? Thought you might say that. In fact, the feeling makes you more likely to interpret reality negatively, which can bring on a ton of self-loathing and self-criticism, she says. It's a reminder that something's off about your social environment and that you need to prioritize your happiness.Ĭhances are, though, you're not too grateful for loneliness while you're experiencing it. The upside: Feeling lonely isn't necessarily a bad thing, Cacioppo notes. And until you're able to pinpoint and then address what you're dissatisfied with, you'll feel isolated, left out, and in need of companionship.

When you feel lonely, it’s usually because you aren’t quite satisfied with what you have, whether it’s in that moment or throughout your life, Cacioppo explains. It’s not necessarily about being physically surrounded by people-because you might feel especially lonely in a crowd-but about your mentality. Feeling lonely is, perhaps ironically, universal.īut, what is loneliness, exactly? Simply put, 'it's the discrepancy between what you have and what you want from your relationships,' says Stephanie Cacioppo, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, who specializes in the study of loneliness and social cognition.

Whether you're feeling down about the number of comments on your latest Instagram post, or just have that sense that no one else really gets you, you've experienced it.

I am completely and utterly alone