They're Sharing a Drink they call Loneliness

So this morning, one of my friends had linked to this article about the ways that loneliness can screw up not only your mind but your body. It's a long piece, but a very worth while read.  It discusses all the ways in which loneliness and lack of intimacy can basically kill you. It also talks about how this isn't just a small problem, it's a great big serious problem that should be treated as a public health crisis. It's something that we could solve and probably cure, if we just tried.

As I was reading the article, I found myself in this strange emotional state. It was kind of like wasps swarming inside my head and at first I really didn't even understand why. I knew I was angry. I considered that maybe it was because loneliness shouldn't have to exist but does because we decide certain people are objectionable. Or maybe I was pissed because people know how much loneliness can hurt, but still use it as a way to punish others.

The more I thought about it though, the more I realized I was fundamentally pissed at the concept as a whole. I really, deeply, and completely HATE the fact that we're so genetically geared to be around each other.  To me, it feels like a kind of cosmic betrayal.

I've rarely witnessed humans who were around each other and it turned out to be a positive thing. Most of the time, the relationships were horrible or destructive or outright dangerous. Sure our bodies may crave attention and affection from other humans, but at what cost? To keep them around, we have to put up with their drama, with their financial costs, with their baggage, with their filthy, and with them draining us. If not being around other humans can be deadly, it seems that being around them can be just as bad. Or worse. Maybe your body isn't dying as fast . . . you just wish it was.

I can't even count the number of times I've seen people in absolutely horrible relationships say they wouldn't leave because they 'didn't want to be alone.' They didn't want to live alone in  the house. They didn't want to face every day by themselves. They didn't want to die alone.

I get it. I do. Even though I HATE this concept, I understand it. Now that I'm getting older, I'm starting to have to think about those years when I'm an old and feeble woman. There won't be anyone to take care of me. Then again, I've been fat for a long time, so maybe I'll just have a heart attack or something and not have to worry about it. I'm serious about that too. Quick heart attack death sounds a lot less scary than 'at the whim of the rest home workers' death. I do not like the idea of that one at all.

Though, as angry as I get about things of this nature, I have to remember that it IS nature and that humans are capable of evolving. Maybe the risk of being around other asshole humans will begin to outweigh the drive TO be around other humans. Maybe we can evolve past the effects of loneliness. I think this would be a vast kindness, really.