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As someone that struggles with this, I've noticed a sort of pattern for those who suffer from loneliness as well. Just some observations from a few of my friend
by heydonovan 9y ago
As someone that struggles with this, I've noticed a sort of pattern for those who suffer from loneliness as well. Just some observations from a few of my friends that would identify with loneliness too:
1. We either work from home, or work the night shift. Even working the second shift has had such a detrimental effect in terms of no longer going out for happy hours, never having conversations in passing, and never getting to participate in meetings, interviews, etc. I think it takes a certain person to want to work those hours, and I'm slowly starting to understand why there is a shift differential.
2. Having your own set of friends, not co-workers, and not your signifiant others "friends". Life was far better in College if nothing more than all the friends I had. Now friends are usually co-workers and there isn't such a strong bond.
3. Choosing non-social hobbies. I'd even consider the gym a pretty isolated activity, as most people don't talk there, and it's such a serious environment. I tried crossfit for nothing more than the social aspect of it, and felt it was a much better environment than lifting in the corner with earbuds in.
4. Exercise. Of all the people I've talked to about this, none of them exercised, myself included. I read that it has such huge implications on the makeup of the brain, and have seen the results myself. If I can go a few weeks of actually working out, not just pushups here or there, but actual sweat inducing, blood pumping workouts, the effects cary on into the week. I'd also lump in water in there too, since I've gone months with drinking Soda/RedBull/Coffee. All anecdotal of course.
- davesque 9y agoI wonder about the exercise thing. For the past few years, I've exercised fairly frequently. And, yet, I still struggle with feelings of loneliness and depression. I think exercise helps a little but maybe less than people like to imagine. As you imply with your other points, you probably have to address loneliness on multiple fronts in order to have a lasting impact on it.
- marnett 9y agoThere are a slew of research papers on the benefits of exercise for the clinically depressed, anxious, etc [1]. Most of the research boils down to the fact that, with enough rigor in the exercise regime (typically linked to one's heart rate passing a specific threshold), endorphins are released in the brain, providing a similar positive feeling as would morphine. Of course, exercise will not cure depression, or remove loneliness altogether. But, as I'm sure you know, battling depression is more about having a repertoire of daily habits that shift one's focus to the positive aspects of life. There is no silver bullet, and it truly is a daily effort to ensure positivity, and more importantly self-love, is reached. [1] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=endorphins+exercise+depression&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjErt_kgNbZAhUNiIMKHSlaAboQgQMIJzAA https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=endorphins+exercise+dep...
- davesque 9y agoI guess my main point was what you're saying: exercise will not cure depression. I think it's a behavior of people who are struggling with depression to constantly seek out a single answer to their problems. In that sense, I believe anything, no matter how beneficial on paper, can eventually be used as a fixation which feeds the depressive cycle. This has been my experience as I've struggled with depression in my life. Exercise is no exception to this pattern.