Loneliness (June Hunt Hope for the Heart) Read Free

in with anyone.”
“I’m tired of trying to make people like me. I always fail.”
“I always feel excluded.”
“I’m always on the outside.”
“I’m too messed up for anyone to like me or want to be around me.”
“I’m just a born loser.”
“I feel like I’ve been deserted.”
“I don’t deserve to be loved or to have friends.”
“I think I’m the only one who feels like this.”
WHAT ARE Psychological Symptoms of Loneliness?
    Feelings of loneliness are easier to describe than to define. Loneliness is a feeling of emptiness in the pit of your stomach when someone you love has deserted you. You feel abandoned, unwanted, or unneeded, as if “you’re all by yourself when you’re actually surrounded by all kinds of people.” 22 You feel like no one really cares.
    These problems can intensify if you start to believe your loneliness signals a serious personal defect—that you are somehow unacceptable, unworthy, immature, weak, or unlovable. If this happens, you may begin to feel you have nothing to live for. Your pain can erode your self-esteem, drain your strength, and steal your hope. 23
    Loneliness puts a wall around you no matter how free you actually may be.
    If you are lonely, you may identify with this passage from Psalm 31:9–12 in which an emotionally devastated David prays to God.
    “Be merciful to me, O L ORD , for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends—those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.” (Psalm 31:9–12)
Persistent loneliness can lead to other problems, such as:
Depression
Anger
Fear
Fault-finding in others
Self-criticism
People who are perpetually lonely:
Have difficulty taking risks socially, such as introducing themselves to others, starting a conversation, or joining a group
Feel uncomfortable sharing personal feelings
Have difficulty trusting others in a social situation
Develop a pessimistic or cynical outlook on life
Expect to be rejected by others
When loneliness becomes severe:
Thinking is altered
Outlook on life changes
Motivation is lost
Hopelessness abounds
Isolation deepens
    Loneliness can leave you desperate to connect with anybody , leading you to impulsively involve yourself too quickly or too deeply with those who are not “suitable helpers.” The result will be the forming of unhealthy, damaging relationships.
    “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26)
WHAT ARE the Physical Symptoms of Loneliness?
    Loneliness can take a toll on your physical health, because what negatively affects your mind and spirit ultimately has a negative impact on your body.
    “So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.” (Psalm 143:4)
Physical symptoms of loneliness are similar to symptoms of stress or depression and may show up as: 24
Anxiety and apprehension
Change in eating habits—loss of appetite or overeating
Change in sleeping habits—insomnia or oversleeping
Decreased immunity to illness
Gastrointestinal problems—stomachaches, nausea, diarrhea
Headaches
High blood pressure
Nervousness
    “An anxious heart weighs a man down.” (Proverbs 12:25)

CAUSES FOR LONELINESS
    He is the most respected man in all the land, and no one equals him in wealth and wisdom in the eyes of God. When as judge he took his seat in the city square he said, “the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet. ... Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel. ... They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain” (Job 29:8, 21,23).
    Therefore, there can be no more dramatic descent than what this