This post needs a more well thought out reply and I can provide. It is great though.

1, 2 & 4 for me. 2 & 4 being the cause of 1.

I'm comfortable in my personal lifestyle, I enjoy my own company, & my material needs are met... BUT...I don’t fit in here in the culture where I'm living.

Upon retirement, I moved to a Republican-dominated, church-going farm-town with a largely married population, for the safty and affordablity of it. I grew up and spent most of my years living in a resort area where the world and all it's culture was at our doorway, and the population was living the "Salt-life".

Even though all my basic needs are met, I feel a lack of "connection" both personaly and intellectually.

The marches and demonstrations that I have joined and organized myself have been born out of my own pure passion for the issues themselves, and not done as an effort to make connection, but I have found that there is also a secondary benifit from it because of it being fulfulling to find others that are on the same page.
This does bring a certain amount of social connection, and it makes no difference the status and partnership status of the people that are being interacted with. The friendships are precious.

On an intellectual level, I have been divorced for 20 years. I have filled the void by throwing my self into child-rearing and work. Giving myself no time to stop for any other needs that I may have had. I've coped by crowding out the time to have anything else that I might have missed.

One can only do that for so long. The children grew up, and left home. I became unable to still perform my job. I can still find many things to do when I am at home, but every so often, there are times when I would jusy like to have someone there if I picked up the phone to call them, or had someone to share a meal, or a cosy evening. It could be nice to have someone that I feel close enough to come over and snuggle up under the covers beside me with open options for activities if I pick up a book to read it on a rainy day.

Five out of six...#6 is still pending! And in'78 I've scored 145,retested two years later with same result.my cure for loneliness is walking meditation,TM,nature walk or stroll next to any body of water,bigger-better.MUSIC!Tried dating site! What a joke! But I'm optimist and constantly try to have my radar on,what can be an issue in this modern Rome!Soon to retire,or at least scale down,I'm checking local volunteering posts to find something challenging or boring.I'm naturalized citizen and thinking of moving on,this social structure and government is ...

You sound like a perfectly charming woman. I relate to everything you've said as well. I think it's unfortunately common for intelligent people, especially amongst those that get called "geniuses". I suppose it's important to know that you aren't alone, and I would LOVE to chat with you if ever you felt lonely.

I guess I most closely fit #6. I'm 71 and death often feels close. I go to a gym and try to avoid the worst effects of deterioration. I had a hip replacement when I was 65 and I never fully recovered from that so my walking is impaired. The knee of my opposite leg has no cartilage and is sometimes painful and it further impairs my walking. I feel totally outside of the normal lives of the people around me. I've learned from experience to leave people alone and stay in my own alone space.

It's been several years since I attempted sex. I was getting progressively worse ED that Viagra and the other drugs like that didn't help and I finally gave up trying to have sex out of frustration.

My worst problem is insomnia. I think I would be okay with my life as it is except sleep is a constant ordeal. I get so sick of the hours I spend trying to find my way to a little release and a little bit of not-being. Right now I'm on the second night of no sleep at all. I think about suicide almost constantly. If I owned a gun I would be in peril of just grabbing it and getting it all over with without hesitation. There are also family reasons I am trying to avoid suicide for a while. I rent a room from an ex-wife and the money I'm paying her makes it possible for her daughter to try to upgrade her life by going to school to get a better job than the shit jobs she's had.

I think I will most likely eventually end my life rather than let things deteriorate to the point that I die a slow, miserable death in a VA facility. I know how to do it with helium gas and the times like right now make that feel like a better choice than going on like I am.

Am I lonely? I've passed through stages of loneliness beyond anything I thought there was. It's not even about loneliness any more. It's about the fact that there is almost no pleasure in my life, even from the most simple and basic things like eating, while so many things become more difficult and painful as time passes.

I see that I've made it sound pretty horrible. It's not quite that bad, except when it's 5 am and I'm on the second night of no sleep, it amplifys it all.

If I had the delusion of religion it would probably seem different. It would probably be different. I don't though, and I can't "reboot" my evaluation of reality for my own convenience. I came to my view of a cold, indifferent universe through the sum total of my life experiences, and here I am.

Loneliness is a pervasive human quality.

I also joined the Wenatchee meet up group, and the Chelan Co. Democrats. I also have several factors on your list. Don't know where to go from here, but maybe we could share ideas.

Yes. As an only child who has lived alone most of my life, including my entire post-college professionally employed engineering career of the past 12 years, I occasionally experience loneliness. Much more recently since I tend to go about 2 years between relationships and I'm into year 4 without a significant other. I frequently see friends spending time in my area who know I'm lonely and don't invite me to join them which only exaserbates the feeling.

I'm lonely, mainly because of the end of a 30 year relationship that I grew too dependent upon. That, and my kids grew up and have lives of their own. I'm slowly learning to deal with it. I still have a few friends, and I'm not estranged from anyone in my family, so I have people to turn to if it gets too bad. It's just a little tough to figure out when you've only very briefly lived alone in your life, and that a long time ago. I was somewhat excluded from groups in my youth, but I found/made a group of my own. Being an extravert, I've always tried to find things in common with whatever group I found myself in, without losing my own identity. For the most part, I succeeded, and always had my real group of friends and family to fall back on.

1, 2, 4 and 5. Fortunately I don't actually feel lonely that often. I'd say 2 and 5 affect me most often/acutely. 4 not so much now that I've been out of school, and lacking in deep and intellectual conversations for the most part, for so long now. And 1 does get to me badly sometimes, but not most of the time; I've been out of a romantic relationship for the longest time since my first - it was no longer than 6 months before (just a couple months other than the one 5/6 month period), and its now been...atleast a year and a half I believe...-sigh-
My ex (the most recent one, that I'm still friends with) faces the last one way too often for someone who's not actually anywhere near dying. He's caught up in a loop of being terrified of death and thinking about how we're all meaningless in the greater scheme of things and taking that too personally and getting depressed. There's nothing I'm able to do to help him.

Btw, you sound like you may actually be an extroverted introvert, like myself - you get energy from interacting with others, but its still draining and you need time alone to recharge. This would explain why I seem incapable of living with anyone lol.

Very well articulated....for me it would probably be more cultural - not so much loneliness - maybe more "isolation". I spent 25 years working in an office full of not just republicans - but RABID republicans - who teased and referrred to me as "our token tree hugging, granola crunching, birkenstock wearing liberal". Needless to say, I developed a very thick skin. Add that to the fact that every member of my family hates democrats, liberals, etc etc - you can see where I had to learn to either just let it roll off and keep quiet - or spend my entire life endlessly arguing with everyone. Life is just too short for that.

Not really, but kind of yes at the same time. I mostly feel sad that I don't have anyone to share all the cool things about life with. I also feel bad that my son doesn't have a male figure to look up to, other than my father who he doesn't see a ton. Other than that, I like being alone. I think there's plenty fulfillment to be had by yourself.

Definately #1 with 2-6 mixed in, lol

I'm an introvert. That's a tough tag to wear. I don't and won't go out much for any reason. I'm not lonely and I have a great living situation. I live with a family member who is a self taught theologian and our conversations are sometimes legendary! I have experienced all 6 of the levels at one time or another and have over the years learned to seriously love me. I'm retired and spend most of my time on my computer and watching TV. It's quite interesting to see how the future is conceptualized in movies that I watched many year ago. I've attempted to meet with women but it's tough because they're all Christians and we usually disagree with each other before night's end and I come home very frustrated. I'm at an age now where the drama that is some women isn't worth the effort so it's just me. Being involved in the growth of new family members is enough for me until that VERY special someone comes along.

Sure am right now

After my wife died I felt onely and alone all the time. Now 10 years later I am less botherd being alone and also spend more time around other people, which helps. Vicki was one of the sharpest people I ever met, and we could talk about anything. I miss that more than anything. I want it again.

I experience loneliness occasionally, usually on the weekends when the girls are with their dad. It's just me and the pets, and they aren't real good at making conversation.

When I get feeling that way, I annoy my online friends. I have a few that are around and willing to talk, pretty much any time.

Majorly lonely. 1 and 6, although I have no plans on kicking the bucket anytime soon.

Solitude and being alone can (in small doses) help you to sort of find yourself. After a three year relationship ended, I was devastated. I had no purpose it seemed other than, "work, eat, sleep, repeat". But being single, or just alone with my thoughts has helped me to know myself better. Hindsight is 20/20, and knowing what you want out of life is a big factor in how you can combat that loneliness.

At one time or another, I've experienced 1-5. I'm old enough to be aware that death may come at any time; though, my health is good and might live a couple of decades longer. However, I've not faced 6. Alghough, I've spent much of my formative years alone, I cannot remember long periods of lonliness, perhaps because my curiosity is entertaining. For about 8 years, I suffered pain, like having the three little toes on my left foot cut off. Neither the cause nor the reson it stopped have been diagnosed. During these years, the pain blocked most psychological needs and some physiological.

I was born during WWII, when fathers were away and mothers worked. From my birth, I must have been alone for long perieds (1 & 2 lonliness), which seems to have made lonliness feel normal, because I've seldom suffered from lonliness.

Previously, I though existential lonliness was being alone whith our thoughts, even in a crowd with lively conversation.

I can relate to this post on so many levels. I get lonely a lot.

A life without another has no purpose.

A lot of what you have here resonates. I've always thought I was cursed to a degree with intellect, which definitely puts up a barrier of sorts between myself and a lot of folks that I've encountered. I've always tried to overcome that by being a bit of an extrovert myself but I've really reeled that in in recent years. I'm tired of extending myself only to usually be met with some form of rejection or nonsense. This ride of life can get tricky, huh?

There is also loneliness one can feel inside a committed relationship, when you cannot relate to one another anymore. I think loneliness is something that we have to prepare for as we get older. The longer we survive the more people that were in our lives will perish. Somehow we need to find peace within ourselves and with the mystery of the universe. I always try to remember that Monty Python song, "Always look on bright side of life". I've found that keeping busy is the best cure.

I have PTSD and that colors my life. I have always been an introvert and my upbringing while enjoyable and challenging left me lost as I grew up and encountered those who buried their intellectual sides. I am told that I have a high IQ but that doesn't guarnetee anything unless it is paired with a strong dose of common sense. I have trouble relating to people. I haven't owned a TV since 1997 and I don't go to movies anymore as the audience "particpation" spoils it for me. I enjoy my own time and cannot relate to a strong religious, Republican, superior mentality. While I enjoy reading about many subjects and taking classes both for a degree and on my own, the majority of people I see here feel threatened by any change. They think the fifties were just fine thank you! Neither of us understands or wants to discuss what the other sees as worth discussing.