Loneliness vs depression?

Loneliness and depression can contain comparable feelings, so it may be difficult to distinguish between the two and where one ends and the other begins. Both feelings can involve restlessness and irritability, cognitive fogginess, decreased or low energy, self-doubt, changes in sleep patterns or appetite, as well as aches and pains. However, the two do have differences in which one can distinguish them as separate things. When one is experiencing depression, one typically feels lonely due to isolating oneself, not because one has nobody to talk to. This isolation, resulting from feeling depressed, can leave a person feeling alienated from loved ones, which can exacerbate feelings of depression-spurred loneliness. Furthermore, depression does not just relate to the need for connection. It can affect one’s interest in social interaction, making it difficult for a person to reach out for support or connection. Depression can also drain a person, leaving that individual without the energy to try to connect. A person experiencing depression might feel worthless, guilty, or believe that other people don’t want to spend time with them. Moreover, if a person has depression, social interaction may distract you from your emotional distress temporarily. Still, it won’t always help resolve the issue that is causing the depression in the first place. Even when spending time with your family, friends, or significant other, you might continue feeling listless, empty, and unable to engage. With that being said, loneliness, on the other hand, typically involves an absence of intimacy and genuineness in relationships, leaving the individual feeling unfulfilled. Additionally, loneliness really is caused by a real or perceived complete lack of people who care. If left unresolved or addressed, loneliness can lead to feelings of depression and vice versa. Feeling depressed can result in a person isolating himself from others, resulting in more loneliness. Alternatively, feeling lonely and that we have no one, we can easily become even more depressed. This is the vicious cycle of depression and loneliness, and it is quite possible that we may not feel depressed and lonely at the same time. However, it is easy for the two to bounce off each other and feed into each other’s experiences, perpetuating them until something is done to change the feeling actively. Regarding loneliness, while it may not feel very comfortable, it can be a transient emotional state that explicitly relates to one’s needs for connection and belonging. Once those needs have been met, that individual will likely feel less lonely.