Correlation Between Loneliness and Illness in Women
Loneliness is often viewed as a very serious problem in life, hard to endure. For many, feelings of loneliness can be detrimental. But, what is loneliness and how to overcome it? What is the one thing we need in order to not feel lonely and is there a significant correlation between loneliness and illness in women?
Loneliness
In the book ‘The Art of Loving’, Erich Fromm, a German social psychologist, sociologist, psychoanalyst, democratic socialist, and humanistic philosopher, states that every human being feels aloneness by default. And, that every action, conscious or subconscious, has the overcoming of that loneliness as the main goal, no matter how far from it is may appear.
He states that man has, throughout history, chosen various paths of overcoming loneliness. In all paths, however, the goal was the same or at least similar – to achieve fusion with the society and to be accepted, or to at least fuse with one other human being.
In some primitive cultures people who involved themselves in various orgiastic happenings where they achieved a state of trance in order to fuse with their environment and society. Because it was a custom in their society to participate in such events, that kind of behavior, no matter how morally wrong from today’s point of view, was actually rewarded.
Today, a man in pursuit of similar goals undergoes similar customs, but in a slightly different fashion. Group orgiastic happenings where one achieves the state of trance are now bars and nightclubs. People still dance as if they are following a mantra and the goal is still the same.
This leaves people with enough feelings acceptance and belonging that they can go on for a while until the feeling of loneliness again takes hold and the trance is repeated.
This shows us that this ancient way, although practiced even today, does not achieve the desired goal, that of overcoming loneliness, but rather dissipates it for a short while.
Erich Fromm states several reasons for this, among which are the superficial nature of the orgiastic connection, and inability to communicate with those people in a meaningful way, where one’s center being is being observed and felt.
This clearly leads to increased risks of illness, so much so that if women do not seek to overcome loneliness in the right ways and only mask and postpone the problem with substances, food, or dysfunctional behaviors, it can lead to mental or moral degradation. This means that loneliness can indeed lead to an increased risk of illness.
Depression is another concern that can stem from loneliness. Human beings are social creatures who need love companionship, human connection, and communication. When you spend too much time alone, and without that type of emotional and psychological fulfillment, then you increase risks for depression.
Loneliness is often behind emotional eating, which not only leads to obesity, but also results in feelings of shame, guilt, and lower self-worth. This type of burden can be devastating and can lead to serious consequences for mental, physical, and emotional health.
Physical health can also depend on mental health, as immunity and other key internal processes can be affected when you are in emotional or mental turmoil.
To overcome loneliness, one must first center his own being and achieve unity with himself, according to Fromm, only in the fusion with another being, of being in love; loving and feeling loved back, and making a human connection, can you truly overcome loneliness and answer the question of human existence.
As the quote from Erich Fromm goes:” Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.”