Loneliness

For me, loneliness varies widely.

I can be totally alone at home all day.  Not speaking to anyone.  Yet not feel lonely.

At other times I'm surrounded by people, all communicating, but I feel completely alone and very very lonely.

School was a loneliness nightmare.  Children all around me.  But I was totally alone year after year 

Yesterday I felt almost ok.  Heard a sad song on the radio and suddenly the loneliness hit me.

Parents
  • Yes I feel lonely too, usually in the evenings, after a days work as well as low moods which come and go like clouds, still I know these feelings pass but I don't like them.  In the past I have had moderate depression and am hoping that depression does not come back, that was eighteen years before the diagnosis.  I am now slowly coming off the latest anti-depressants after being on paroxotine for many years, I hated Sertraline, gave me stomach ache, I would rather face loneliness.

  • Why would drugs be considered a valid treatment for loneliness? I'm not an authority on getting over loneliness, but I would have though having people around who genuinely care would be a good solution to being lonely.

Reply Children
  • I didn't explain myself very well. What I meant is that giving medication for loneliness is like putting a bandage on a festering wound without cleaning it first. The underlying cause of the illness is still there (i.e. being alone).

    I know what you mean about the bullying thing. I recently went through yet another situation in which I was bullied at work, and of course nobody was on my side, and in fact many sided with the bully against me, even though some of his acts of gross misconduct were caught on video! They just were not willing to believe that I was an ok person and that maybe the bully wasn't such an ok person. I think that was the worst thing, even worse than the bullying itself: the fact that I am no longer there and everyone is under the impression that it is because of something I did wrong.

  • Not all autistic people have carers, some of us have survived independently with or without support and only been diagnosed recently due to anxiety and stress problems and I am still alone and having to cope but with a better understanding of myself. 

  • Because when you become lonely, you become sad and depressed and in the end it leads to mental health issues as in my case, when you can't face life because of the pain.  I was put on them initially when I became moderately depressed working in a factory where I felt isolated and alone.  There is also a report that states that autistic people can have secondary mental health problems and take their own lives or self harm because of misunderstandings and loneliness.  Loneliness is a killer, especially if no one is around who is on the same wave length, in my case I was bullied at work.