I am a bit confused about terms. It seems like the discussion is about two related but separate things. First, there is lonelyness, the social state. This invo

I am a bit confused about terms. It seems like the discussion is about two related but separate things. First, there is lonelyness, the social state. This involves not talking to people, not going to meet new people, and not talking about things you find meaningful with those people. This is a set of actions: it is either done by choice (not a problem) or due to some other underlying problem, like a lack of time/effort, depression, fear of social vulnerability, anxiety, or a lack of interpersonal skills. The reason we call these things underlying is because they represent tangible actions that can be taken by the victim of loneliness or someone else to fix the problem Then there is loneliness the emotion, which might exist separate of the actual lack of socialization described above... existential loneliness perhaps... but most often is cause by the above.