Loneliness does not come from having no people around but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding views which are different from others. Carl Jung
Solitude is very important, but so is social interaction and connection. We are hard-wired to learn engagement with our fellow humans as our Creator knew, and knows, that one cannot be human without other people. It is often a challenge to mature to the point of finding a home between these two extremes. If we err toward the solitude, psychosis will be the result, relevant to an old bromide, “The one who lives by himself and for himself will be spoiled by the company he keeps.” But the opposite extreme is equally deadly as the social demand to “fit in” can become so important that one has no solitude at all and the whole of his/her life can be marching in lockstep with the dictates of the tribe. Group psychosis is equally deadly but is not recognized by those who have been consumed by the group.
The challenge of any group dynamic to lessen the risk of soul-destroying loneliness, especially on the family level, is to create an environment where each individual learns he/she has a voice and that this voice will be respected. Without this dynamic, sterility will set in and death-wielding toxicity will result. Paul Tillich called this toxic environment, an “empty world of self-relatedness.”
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