2️⃣ Loneliness: Being Alone or Feeling Lonely?

We live in a world that never stops. Surrounded by people, screens, messages… yet the feeling of loneliness can still creep in.
Why is that?

🔹 Because being alone is not the same as feeling lonely.
🔹 What truly weighs on us is the perception of lacking emotional bonds or having bonds that feel insufficient.

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🌱 The loneliness that hurts is emotional

You can be at home, in silence, enjoying a moment to yourself, and feel at peace because you know there are people who love you and are there if you need them.

But you can also be in the middle of a crowd, surrounded by conversations and noise, and feel deeply disconnected.
This is emotional loneliness: the emptiness that arises when we feel we lack important emotional connections or that the ones we have don’t nourish us emotionally.

✨ As the saying goes:
“There is no worse loneliness than the one you feel surrounded by people.”

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🌻 Chosen isolation can be healthy, unwanted loneliness can be an opportunity

Seeking moments of chosen isolation can be healthy when it’s a conscious decision for rest, creativity, or introspection.

💡 However, this is not always the case. Sometimes, that isolation comes from dysfunctional personality traits, emotional struggles, or unhealed wounds. In those cases, instead of bringing peace, it deepens the distress.

On the other hand, unwanted loneliness, the kind that arrives uninvited, though painful, can also be a sign.
An invitation to reflect on the quality of our emotional connections, to reconsider how we relate to others and to ourselves.

✨ As the saying goes:
“Some storms come to clear your path.”

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🌍 Let’s reflect together:

🔹 When was the last time you enjoyed being alone without feeling lonely?
🔹 Have you ever felt lonely even while surrounded by people?

💬 I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 🌻
Let’s keep walking together on this path toward inner and outer connection.

With love,
Dr. Arturo José Sánchez Hernández, your friend in health promotion. 💙

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📚 Did you enjoy this read? 

Discover more in the book Challenging Loneliness: Paths to Reconnect: 
https://books2read.com/Challenging-Loneliness-English

🧠 Would you like to know the story behind this project?
Read the interview with Dr. Arturo José Sánchez Hernández here: 
👉 https://mentalhealthmaun.blogspot.com/2025/04/interview-with-arturo-jose-sanchez.html

🌍 Looking for more articles on mental health and well-being?
🔹 Browse the blog index in Spanish here: 
👉 https://saludmentalmaun.blogspot.com/2024/06/index.html
🔹 Or explore the blog index in English here: 
👉 https://mentalhealthmaun.blogspot.com/2024/06/index.html

💬 And if you’d like to share your experiences and reflections on mental health in a safe, supportive space, I invite you to join our WhatsApp group Mental Health in the Heart of Maun: 
👉 https://chat.whatsapp.com/Bq2zInoxO6ZJzhmamfLmy0

💙 Together, we build paths toward emotional well-being.

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