Loneliness

It’s possible to feel lonely despite being in constant company. Tracey Robbins explains, from her personal experience, the concept of the Sandwich Generation.

When most people think of loneliness they think of an elderly person, but as Jamal Blades discusses, older people aren’t always the ones who are lonely.

“Home can be a lonely place” was the defining comment from our loneliness programme which gave us focus for our Neighbourhood Approaches to Loneliness event in Leeds this week.

Mention loneliness and most people, whatever their age, seem to think about older people. We have, it seems, an archetypal image of someone frail, elderly, scared to go out and living – perhaps struggling – on their own: a lonely old person.

You don't need to be a music anorak to be able to think of songs that talk about loneliness – Only The Lonely, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, So Alone… A quick search through Amazon and you'll find plenty of hits (and misses) inspired by songwriters talking about their experiences.

You are more likely to suffer from loneliness at certain times of the day, at certain times of year and at particular stages in your life. The surroundings you live in and your sense of community can also contribute.

Have you ever felt lonely on a Saturday evening or Bank Holiday weekend and thought the whole world was having a good time except you? Have you ever felt that the people around just don’t get you and that you can't connect? We all feel like this at times and often it’s fleeting; it passes and we accept it as part of life.