Is loneliness more a medley of inevitable human experiences?

If you could take a pill to “cure” your loneliness, would you take it? The so-called “loneliness epidemic” has been widely reported and commented upon across the world in recent years, affecting young and old.

There have even been numerous urgent calls by governments and policymakers to address it. However, it should also be noted that some researchers have questioned whether we really have the credible data to back up such claims.

But even if there were enough evidence of a loneliness epidemic, I think it’s important to consider what that would mean about loneliness itself. For example, would it mean we should strive to eradicate it from our individual and collective lives, as we would a virus or disease?

Psychologist, James Hillman had concerns about what I like to call the “loneliness-as-pathology” perspective. He said “solutions” like Prozac, or even socialising in “recovery groups” can reflect the idea that we should “abolish” loneliness.

But what if, as Hillman went on to argue, loneliness is an inevitable part of being human? Wouldn’t we be trying to “cure” something that’s as much a part of our journey as death itself? He put it this way:

If loneliness is an archetypal sense built into us...

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