People who suffer from loneliness think differently, study finds

Loneliness is not just a feeling of emptiness: it profoundly changes the way a person perceives the world and interacts with their environment. A study published in Communications Psychologyhighlights the fact that solitary individuals think and express themselves differently when discussing shared cultural topics, such as celebrities.

These differences, although subtle, reflect a gap with social norms that could reinforce their isolation.

A unique perception influenced by loneliness

Loneliness, defined as the feeling of lacking meaningful social connections, is not just about lack of contact. It also alters the mental representations of individuals. Researchers found that lonely people have different neural responses in the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain region involved in social understanding.

Concretely, they perceive figures from popular culture, such as celebrities, in a way less shared by the rest of their social group.

A thought out of step

The study also looked at how lonely people talk about cultural topics. Through textual analysis, the researchers discovered that their descriptions of celebrities were less similar to those of other participants.

These semantic differences reflect a feeling of distance from collective reality, which can reinforce the idea that their thoughts are not aligned with those of those around them.

Implications for social interactions

This disconnect goes beyond simple perception. Chronic loneliness, often linked to mental health problems such as anxiety or depression, is accompanied by difficulty forming or maintaining relationships.

Perceiving the world differently can make this situation worse by reducing opportunities to communicate and feel understood.

Temporary or chronic loneliness?

Although the study focused on the effects of chronic loneliness, it remains unclear whether these findings also apply to temporary episodes of isolation.

This opens the way for future research to better understand the dynamics between temporary loneliness and its cognitive impacts.