What is the root cause of loneliness?
This explains why you can feel lonely in the midst of lots of people you know
We know that there is an epidemic of loneliness affecting society.
But as I read article after article on the Internet about this epidemic, I get the sense that no one knows what its meaning is. First, loneliness is not easily defined. The conventional definition of loneliness goes something like this:
the state of being alone and feeling sad about it
But that definition cannot explain why someone can still feel lonely even when surrounded by many people. It cannot explain why some people feel lonely even when they have lots of friends. It cannot explain why leaders can feel lonely. It cannot explain why popular people can feel lonely. It cannot explain why people at the workplace feel lonely. So, if there is no precise diagnosis of the cause of loneliness, then there is no way a cure can be produced.
As I reflect upon the ups and downs of my life, there are periods where I felt lonely even though superficially, I should not be lonely in the first place. Technically, I belonged to a community of people, and yet, I felt alone. How could it possibly be? As I thought through over the years, it finally dawned on me what the root cause of loneliness is. It explained why I felt lonely despite being in a community.
So, what is the root cause of loneliness?