John Gorman Chronic loneliness is an epidemic in Australia. A study found that one in four people feel lonely, at least one day in a week. Love what you said about REAL loneliness. I could be surrounded by people and feel lonely because I feel like they don’t understand me. They don’t get me.

We kind of `shut down’ when that happens. When someone doesn’t laugh at your jokes or look at you with a blank face when you’re telling them something that happened. We stop talking. We stop connecting.

And that’s bad because it sets us up for more isolation.

The opposite to loneliness (for me) is authenticity. Sharing something real that’s going on with myself. “I’m depressed. I’m disappointed. This is just not working for me.” instead of pretending that everything is alright. The other person may find the courage to open up. “Yep. I get you. Bummer! I thought Sarah and I were getting on well. Then she told me she found another guy. Life sucks.”

When life sucks, I hope that I can find someone who cares. And will listen. Even if they don’t totally understand. That is the opposite to loneliness.