Loneliness

If there was one thing I could cure in this world, if I could only choose one problem to fix, I wouldn’t choose to cure cancer or get rid of autism or eliminate starvation, I would choose to cure loneliness.

Everything else really isn’t so bad when you have people to share it with.

Loneliness has been shown to reduce your lifespan, increase your risk of health issues, and contribute more to mental health issues than any other biological or environmental factor.

I was talking with a friend today, and she shared with me that she had been incredibly lonely at some points in her life. I didn’t say it, but all I kept thinking about was that I was sorry she had to experience that loneliness. Of all of the things I have experienced, loneliness has been the most difficult. I wouldn’t wish it on the most despicable human being in the world.

I think more people are lonely than we realize. I think loneliness is a bigger problem than we acknowledge. As hard as it is for me to talk to people, as difficult as it is to move past the fear, as unskilled as I am at socializing, I try as hard as I can because I know what loneliness feels like. I know the ache, the longing, the desperation.

Maybe we can’t cure loneliness, but I would rather have people advocate for that than advocate to cure autism. I don’t need autism cured, I just need someone to be there with me through it.