"You can be accompanied by the world and feel very alone"
Unwanted loneliness is a subjective feeling that affects the physical and mental health of people who suffer from it . Feeling lonely can lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, cognitive impairment and can even be a cause of suicide risk. It is therefore a public health problem for which community involvement is a key element in addressing it.
María Dolores García tells us what it has meant for her to feel alone and how her participation in the support group "Acompaniment la soledad" , promoted by the Sant Joan de Déu Health Park, has been relevant to getting out of this situation. Her story tells us about suffering, misunderstanding and isolation, but also about the need for the other and the strength to live together and share.
"People don't quite understand you when you tell them that your loneliness is not like theirs, because they want to be alone, but you are forced to be," he begins by saying to express how he feels. This lack of understanding has been one of the constants in his life, a life that has not been easy, with violent and traumatic situations that have led him to have mental health problems . And if there is one thing he has learned along the way, it is that "you can have a family that loves you, you can be accompanied by the whole world and feel very alone; it has nothing to do with it."
María Dolores has found in the support group people who understand her, with whom she can talk, with whom she can share moments, thoughts, feelings. She assures that the group has “changed her life 99%” , and that she has left behind that time when “I was at home, complaining about how miserable I was, with the TV on to keep me company”, until she realized that she had to do something to get out of it: “ You have to make up your mind, get up, do things, get involved and get involved”. Now she has a group of people with whom, beyond the weekly sessions, she can talk, meet for walks, share interests and tastes and experience a sense of belonging .
María Dolores has been participating for some time in the support group "Acompaniment la soledad", promoted by the Sant Joan de Déu Health Park. In this testimony, she shares with us what it has meant for her to feel alone without wanting to be, and in her story she highlights concepts that are worth taking into account, such as misunderstanding, isolation and the need to feel that you belong to a group, to a community.
Listening to her reinforces the idea that unwanted loneliness affects us all and that community participation is an important element in addressing it.
