Loneliness means lacking company.
From the Latin solĭtas , loneliness is the lack of company . This lack can be voluntary (when the person decides to be alone) or involuntary (when the subject is alone due to different life circumstances).
Loneliness, therefore, implies a lack of contact with other people . It is a subjective feeling or state, since there are different degrees or nuances of loneliness that can be perceived in different ways depending on the person.
Examples of use of the concept of loneliness: «I have just gotten divorced: now I want to live a few months in solitude to organize my ideas» , «I am going to travel to the countryside to be a bit in solitude and to be able to dedicate myself to writing my next novel» , «I am "I'm fed up with loneliness, no one calls me or cares about me."
About loneliness
In principle, absolute loneliness does not exist. There is always someone with whom you maintain a certain closeness, whether physical or emotional. On the other hand, solitude in certain periods is valued by many people and there are even those who consider it essential to rest or concentrate.
Aside from personal differences, loneliness for extended periods is often seen as something that causes pain and dissatisfaction . That is why people tend to seek social contact whether in meetings, walks or outings.
Loneliness can be a personal choice or an involuntary circumstance.
Punishment mechanism or spiritual resource
It is interesting to emphasize that in various areas of society loneliness is used as a punishment mechanism. Thus, for example, prisoners who carry out some type of inappropriate act in prison are taken to isolation cells so that they do not repeat actions of that type again.
In the same way, we must not forget that in the psychiatric field, specifically in hospitals, the most violent patients tend to be confined in isolated rooms.
Monks of certain congregations decide to live in solitude as a way to connect with their inner (spiritual) world. There are even groups of monks who, despite living in community , do not even have conversations with each other.
Loneliness in music
Within the musical field we have to emphasize that in Spain this term is also used to refer to a type of song and music that is identifying the Andalusian region. This composition usually has a marked sentimental and melancholic character.
However, within this artistic field it is also important that we establish that there are a series of songs that have the word we analyzed in their title and that have become some of the most significant by certain singers. This would be the case, for example, of Alejandro Sanz , who has among his most famous compositions “My loneliness and me” .
The same happens with José Luis Perales and " A song called loneliness" ; with the group La Oreja de Van Gogh and his “Soledad” , or with Ricardo Arjona and “Soledad” .
a feminine name
Soledad is also a feminine name, shared by personalities such as the singer Soledad Pastorutti or the actress Soledad Silveyra .
To them we could add the figure of other women who also have this name. This would be the case of the Spanish writer Soledad Puértolas , known for novels such as “Queda la noche” ( Planeta Prize in 1989 ); the Madrid politician Soledad Becerril , who was mayor of Seville ; and the actress Soledad Miranda .