COPING WITH LONELINESS
IN today’s society, many experience loneliness. It affects people of all AGES and of all RACES, SOCIAL STRATA, and CREEDS. Have you ever been lonely? Are you lonely now? Actually, all of us at one time or another have felt the need for companionship –for someone to lend us an ear, to offer us reassurance or possibly to echo our deep feelings or inner thoughts, and to understand us as a person. We have a need for someone who is sensitive to our emotions. Coping with loneliness is not easy. Powerful emotions are involved. How can a person deal with loneliness? What have some done to overcome this powerful feeling? Tina likes to be alone when making some decisions, but she feels that loneliness can be dangerous. When she was a child, communication with her parents was lacking. Not knowing how to get their attention, she shut herself up in her room. She relates: “I began to have eating disorders. I was trapped in depre