What is loneliness?

What Does loneliness Mean

From the Latin solĭtas , loneliness is the lack of company . This lack can be voluntary (when the person decides to be alone) or involuntary (when the subject is alone due to different circumstances of life).

Loneliness, therefore, implies a lack of contact with other people . It is a subjective feeling or state, since there are different degrees or shades of loneliness that can be perceived in different ways depending on the person.
In principle, absolute loneliness does not exist. There is always someone with whom you maintain a certain closeness, be it physical or emotional. On the other hand, loneliness in certain periods is valued by many people and there are even those who consider it essential to rest or concentrate.

More than personal differences, loneliness for extended periods is often viewed as something that causes pain and dissatisfaction . That is why people tend to seek social contact whether in meetings, walks or outings.
It is interesting to note that in various areas of society loneliness is used as a punishment mechanism. Thus, for example, prisoners who carry out some type of inappropriate act in prison are taken to isolation cells so that they do not repeat actions of this type.
In the same way, it should not be forgotten that in the psychiatric field, specifically in hospitals, the most violent patients tend to be confined in isolated rooms.
The monks of certain congregations choose to live in solitude as a way to connect with your inner world (spiritual). There are even groups of monks who, despite living in community , do not even have conversations with each other.
Examples of use of the concept of loneliness: "I just got divorced: now I want to live a few months in solitude to collect my ideas" , "I am going to travel to the country to be a little lonely and be able to dedicate myself to writing my next novel" , "I am fed up with loneliness, nobody calls me or cares about me ” .
Within the musical field we have to emphasize that in Spain this term is also used to refer to a type of song and music that is identifying the Andalusian region. This composition usually has a marked sentimental and melancholic character.
However, within this artistic field it is also important that we establish that there are a series of songs whose titles bear the word we are analyzing and which have become some of the most significant by certain singers. This would be the case, for example, of Alejandro Sanz, who has among his most famous compositions “Mi soledad y yo”.
The same happens with José Luis Perales and “A song called loneliness”; with the group "La Oreja de Van Gogh" and his "Soledad", or with Ricardo Arjona and "Soledad".
Soledad is also a feminine name, shared by personalities such as the singer Soledad Pastorutti or the actress Soledad Silveyra .

To them we could add the figure of other women who also have this name. This would be the case of the Spanish writer Soledad Puértolas, known for novels such as “Queda la noche” (Planeta Prize 1989); the Madrilenian politician Soledad Becerril, who was mayor of Seville, or the actress Soledad Miranda.

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