Below are some selected entries made to my guestbook.  I hope that perhaps you can identify with some of the sentiments expressed here.
Interesting reading; have discovered I am a professional faker.  
Carole  1/18/2003
Great site. I think that I'm not the kind of person that need a lot of friends to feel happy. My kind of loneliness is related with love. I don't care if I don't have a lot of friends but what is hurting me is my lack of love. I need a girlfriend who can understand me... thats all 
nn  1/20/2003
A lovely site - well written in a sensitive and compassionate way
well done 
--  1/25/2003
i'm making a thesis about loneliness to street children. could you help me? 
Sabran  1/26/2003
Loved the site, a wonderful resource on a subject not talked about often, especially among people who are suffering from it. It is a shame that many people who suffer from loneliness are loving, caring, sensitive, timid and humble people. Just remember that you are exactly what the world needs now! Keep the faith! 
Chris  2/2/2003
Very nice site. Thanks for taking the time and effort to publish such useful information. It would be helpful for me at least to know more about the link between loneliness and depression. They seem so interrelated. Which comes first? It is like the chicken and the egg dilema.  
Bernie  2/6/2003
The site is really wonderful. I came across it just by chance and found it so helpful that it's now been bookmarked.
Thank you so much.  
Sandie  2/7/2003
If your struggling with lonliness, your not alone, and yet you are alone so very alone. 
John  2/13/2003
Hey I really like your site. I have found some of the information here helpfull. Thanks :) 
Samantha  2/15/2003
I have to say, the poem "Resignation", by M.M. is awesome. How beautifully it describes the thoughts, how well the format defines the muddled feelings. I will revisit again and again.
I came here, with a longing, to undertand how one gets over the loss of a soulmate. there is nothing that can fill that empty place. But, M.M.'s poem, filled me with something that pacified that pain.
Thank you, 
Shewhohowls  2/16/2003
The website was very helpful, and I am much more educated on my feelings. There should be a way for the lonely ones to contacts each other and discus some saddening issues, such as their specific loneliness. For example, i feel that suddenly my friends are forgetting me, and I just dont know what to do. Every day i sit at home, and just feel lonely. It'd be nice to talk to other and get input on personal kinds of loneliness and ways to reverse it. Thanks 
Lauren  2/18/2003
Thank you for the inlightment on loneliness i was crying before i pulled up the sight you have described my life to the fullest i still battle with the loneliness and i dont think i will ever stop but again i think you for your words may be in the future i will learn to cope with this a little better than i am now t/y 
desire  2/28/2003
i just need someone to help me live 
gary  3/1/2003
Very useful website. I like the combination of good information with artistic expression. 
Lisa  3/3/2003
All I want to say is...
That all my life has been alone, with no real friends, just fading images of light which never stay still.
They float from my eyes, to the deep.
Site is ok, but its quite bad for navigation. 
Liam  3/4/2003
My laptop has been my 'alimentation celeste' since I left TT to study in France. Anytime I lose sight of where I am, I come online, type in the 'problem', browse through possible solutions. Tonight, I found myself picking at a half healed wound ... I felt the painful constriction within ... I felt the nausea rising... and I missed him ... and I cursed myself for it ... then I found this website ... and I saw myself again, without holes, healing beautifully. Thank you. 
Shanti  3/7/03
justr going thru a very lonely time right now 
Mike  3/9/2003
Dear Sean, 
 This site proved a tremendous resource for a coaching workshop I'm doing with a Singles Group on the subject of loneliness. What a find; I certainly intend to recommend the site to the group. 
 Great work,
 Coach Charlene  3/10/2003
I am blind, and I found this sight pretty easy to get around. I just thought I'd tell you that, as blind people need to use some extra software to use a computer and the internet independly, and some sites still aren't that user friendly. This one is good! I found the articles on understanding loneliness really helpful. Perhaps some useful additions would be to the links page or elsewhere on loneliness in different types of situations, e.g. loneliness in the work place when not being up to talk to other colleagues about work related stress because of physical isolation, confidentiality etc. Or, loneliness after moving to a new country, i.e. culture shock, language barriers. Loneliness with in a family because of feeling different from the rest of them, (I especially feel this at Christmas and other family functions). 

Fantastic stuff, rock on and hope you get A++++++++ on your masters and eventual phd! 
Karen  3/11/2003
It is sad that there has to be a website on this subject at all. But it is necessary and much needed. 
Richard  3/13/2003
Hi. I just wanted to let you know that I was doing research project for my psychology class and found that your website was the most useful one I found on the internet. Thanks so much for all the information that you provided. It has aided me tremendously. 
--  3/18/2003
hey... thanks... for having something like this web page... where students like me can... go to and find information for school assignments.... thanks....
windy  3/19/2003
it is very helpful. I like it. I will introduce it to my friends. 
--  3/23/2003
....well......at least I can 'talk' with a computer screen.....better than not talking at all, eh??? 
lonliboy  3/28/2003
I found this site really interesting and helpful. I often feel alone, but I am so glad that although i may often feel alone, i know that God is always there for me, through the good and the bad. You just have to open the door to him so that he can begin to work in your life.
thanks for the website!it was great!  
--  4/3/2003
Hello all. i know all too well of the feeling of loneliness and isolation. I went through a year of my life with not one friend and i can tell you that it was the most humiliating, degrading and horrible experience i have ever known- i do not wish it on anyone! You know why i survived that year? It was cos i did have a friend- this friend i had was God. During that time, and ever since, i had a personal friendship with him, and whenever i was lonely, i talked to him and he was with me- he surrounded me with love and peace and i was content to just sit there with him sitting invisibly beside me! God knows of loneliness- he knows how awful it can be and he doesnt want you to be lonely- you know something: he is the only friend we could ever have who will not let us down and will not hurt us- with him, you will be alone any longer for his friendship is so precious and wonderful! So, if you want to know more about this best friend who loves you more than you have ever known, please feel free to email me cos i would be happy to talk with you about it! :D 
Joy  4/6/2003
This is a fountain of information that is well researched and compiled. The information has been extremely helpful and is well organized. Thank you for creating a thoroughly researched, organized informative web page. This is a wonderful resource for information. 
 M.  4/10/2003
this is an excellent website! i enjoyed learning more about the issue and actually did a project on it! :) thanx sooo much bye
fudgee0mi  4/23/2003
After reading this website it has helped me a lot ! I now feel better and I am looking foward to the more positive things in life ! 
--  4/28/2003
Thank you .... and more power to this site !!! 
Loree  5/1/2003
I happened to find this site via google.com, when searching information about loneliness and depression. Especially the article about loneliness and love was interesting and gave me many thoughts. Thank you for keeping up a website like this! 
Mia  5/4/2003
I liked it alot! 
--  5/5/2003
COOL SITE 
AARON  5/11/2003
site was helpful, easy to navigate. Loneliness, can be felt in the presence of people, it's an awful feeling 
Sara  5/14/2003
Nice place. 
Borg  5/18/2003
I had no idea! I've always felt that mine was an isolated problem and that "others" were adjusted and could get along with the world. After reading a few of the entries in the guestbook, I saw myself and know that I am not the only one in the world with this affliction. I will look further into this site. Thanks for making the info available. 
Mark  5/18/2003
I think it is wonderful someone can give so much for nothing in return, I'm sure this is a gift for so many. I think maybe some self-diagnosis charts and practical realistic step-by-step help is the only things you could consider improving on (oh an as an art student possibly the design!)

I am only 19 and have never felt lonely until the past two months when a two year realtionship with a man i was going to marry and spent everyday with ended. I still love him and it is horrible trying to fill the sick void in my stomach.
I didn't really know what was wrong with me until a friend just said it- "You know what- your lonely"

I feel ashamed to admit it and dont want symapthy at all. I am lucky my esteem is atcually high and i beleive I can become stronger.
Yes I feel strange, sad, confused, empty, lonely but somedays I feel happy, free, strong, positive amazed at myself- one day these feelings will be permanant.
Lonliness is equated with discontentment

Thank you for your WONDERFUL CARING SITE & INSIGHT

p.s> the bit about us being sociable animals is so helpful and should be empthasised cos it makes me realise we are just the same and this is an issue that can reach anyone, Im just unlucky right now in life and no worse than anyone else just becuase of loneliness 
--  5/25/2003
My sister died 7 months ago, and being an only child for the first time in 22 years is very lonely. I don't know how to relate to people anymore. Your website helps. 
K  5/25/2003
Wow! I am so happy to read these pages. I have been lonely for so long and I am trying to find a way to cope. I will visit back again. Thanks 
M. Bab  5/26/2003
This is a very wonderful site for the far I have gone. It has given facts and I do agree with your research. 
--  6/1/2003
'I have never felt close to anyone at my school, or even outside of school. I am afraid that if I try to get closer the person will reject me. This past schoolyear I had not visited one of my schoolmates out of school, minus baseball. I hope this is just a faze of teenagerhood. 
Greg  6/29/2003
I have been searching for years to understand why I feel lonelines and not loved by another human being. These articles written here makes me feel that I am not the only human being feeling this way. What you have described as loneliness describe me to a tea.
this site is very useful. Thank you for this site. 
Nancy  7/4/2003
'the sight was useful.  
Glenn  7/14/2003
Thank you for sharing this information. Much of what you wrote hit home. My recent break-up with a man I deeply love proved to me again that I suffer from separation anxiety. It tore me up inside. We broke up 2 months ago and the feeling of possibly never being in love again or someone never loving me again makes me very lonely, sad and empty in my heart. Our relationship satisfied emotional needs I didn't know I had until we were no longer apart.
Thank you for conducting this research and posting on the web. 
Suzie  7/17/2003
'Hi! I actually came across this website as I was preparing for a presentation for my sociology class. I think you did an excellent job on presenting the most basic aspects of loneliness. Your site is clear and detailed. You have good information and it cuts straight to the point instead of reading non-related things that most websites tend to include. Thank you so much for making my project much easier. Good luck on your Phd and further accomplishments. 
Deena  7/18/2003
'This is one of the most interesting sites I have ever come across, I felt like you had taken pages from my life and posted them. This site has given me food for thought on evaluating my life. 
--  7/23/2003
'I'm glad I found you. I've never felt so lonely.Allot of people I've loved have died.
They were so young too. I miss them.
Thank You, 
Judy  7/26/2003
'i'm lonely...it's summer so im not in school...and im usually jus too tired or i dont feel like going out...i hate my life, i duno if im depressed or lonely, i used to be depressed but i think im lonely because school is out...i duno...w/e....thanks this site has helped. if anyone wants to talk wit me then go for it, it wud help alot! 
Emilie  7/31/2003
It's nice to have some answers to how i feel and why i might feel this way. 
Joanna  8/3/2003
I've just found this site and haven't read much, but am pretty impressed. I will be coming back to read more. I found the site because I just started a blog and chose for my first topic of reflection, loneliness and having direction. I wanted to find some good links and was amazed at the number of pages that contained both of these topics. 
cdeanoh  8/3/2003
'I go to TCC and was doing a research project for my Composition II class. One of the topics I wanted to write about was loneliness and I just happened to come across this site, I found it very helpful. Keep up the good work!!
Working hard, 
Nicole  8/3/2003
A wonderful contribution to the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of individuals. I found your website very informative and insightful. 
 All the Best to you! 
 Marcy  8/4/2003
Hi there
Thanks for the informative website i'm sure it is providing some comfort for people. It was nice to read. 
Julie  8/4/2003
I hate psychologists. They always know you better than you know yourself. Some of this stuff is so close to the truth for me I find it quite scary. 
--  8/17/2003
Fantastic site. A reminder that I have a condition and am not just a defective person. 
Nick  8/18/2003
This site was very helpful. Thank you. 
Marty  8/18/2003
Not a bad site, overall. I have experienced crushing loneliness for much of my adolescent and adult life, and am currently going through a long cold spell of it with no end in sight. It is good to read just about *anything* that charts my dismal path. But I have to say I am cruelly annoyed by the pathetically lame, cliche and platitudinous suggestions for serious sufferers. Come on, "join a club?" "Time to move up and move on?" "If you're thinking about suicide, talk to a counselor?" Such trite utterances amount to a taunt, in my opinion, and utterly fail to address the depth of suffering you otherwise take careful pains to record. 
Billy  8/30/2003
i want to know the exact causes of loneliness,
please give the reason. 
Raju  9/10/2003
i want to get some paper about loneliness.
i come from China. thank you very much!!!! 
Yellowsea  9/13/2003
Excellent source;Since loneliness is pervasive,and I have experienced it and learned as best I can to cope with it this website is a friendly resource--right here in my computer room. Thank You 
--  9/16/2003
the site is very good and gives lot of information. 
--  9/17/2003
Thank you. I feel totally isolated and lost. My girlfriend found someone new after a 4 year relationship. It wasn't the best relationship but I really wanted to make things work. I feel rejected and alone. I cry at night. I just want to keep busy, but my friends have their own lives. I don't want to go home. I don't want to do anything. I just want someone to love me, and to love them back. 
Ryan  9/19/2003
Thanks for making this informtion accessible. 
--  9/20/2003
one aspect of loneliness that is often overlooked is the assumption that only physically unattractive people are lonely...women, beautiful women, have their own loneliness to deal with...there is an assumption that if you are a beautiful woman you automatically have plenty of real friends, a loving partner, and money is never an object.

in truth there is alot of jealousy, and an assumption by employers-STILL-that you will just get married have some kids and leave the workforce.... and if you're a sensitive woman you end up feeling its all your fault anyhow and creating a vicious circle for yourself..in effect making yourself ugly in order to appease those who put you down.

I'm intelligent, talented, attractive- generally a fun person...but my relationships have been few and far between..they last maybe a few months at the most...I don't make friends easily (outside of work), even harder to keep...especially any romantic interests...I have an unusual/creative outlook upon reality-life- which tends to disturb men too much...I ask is it necessary for me to choose between a lobotomy or to throw acid in my face to make myself acceptable and lovable to Someone? I am not willing to do either of these. I need to be loved for who I am, even if not understood perfectly...
was my family dysfunctional? yes. highly. essentially raised by adult children who introduced me to adult situations, dismissed my own desires, gave me no sense of direction in life and now expect me to somehow save them from themselves.
I'm in my 30's and like a fellow earlier in line I doubt if I'll ever find someone to care about me. a life companion I can trust. I have no money and am viewed as a financial liability to men my own age, a toy to anyone younger and old men are not my thing.

I realized I have to honestly love myself first...but it's not an easy thing to do at all after so many years. 
--  10/9/2003
I have a comment on the difference you make between STATE loneliness and TRAIT loneliness.

I am somebody who clearly fits your description of TRAIT loneliness, but I find this distinction somewhat arbitrary. As I recall it, I was subjected to years of STATE loneliness as a child, and the long-term effect of all this state loneliness was the development of a chronic trait loneliness when I went away to college.

What annoys me the most about this is that I had a healthy self-esteem when I was younger, but my mom was over-protective and isolated me from my peers. The ongoing deprivation of peer contact was what led me to have a case of chronic trait loneliness in my adulthood, though it was never part of my original personality.

Is this a common experience among those who have trait loneliness? 
--  10/13/2003
I write a lot of loneliness poetry and flash fiction if you ever are in need of that for future research. I liked your site and happened onto it by accident while I was looking for loneliness quotes for an immediate prose piece I'm writing. I'm also bipolar 2 and fighting off a serious down cycle currently so I found the information on loneliness really uplifting, strangely-- that's a strange thing to say, huh?!

Thanks and good luck with your studies! 
--  10/13/2003
WOW...I cant believe I'm not the only one who feels the way I do. Great website, VERY informative, so glad I found it :-) THANKS!!!! 
--  10/14/2003
Great site. I feel alot better after veiwing some of the poems and artwork. It would be nice if I could offer a donation though I am out of work and struggling myself, maybe when things are better. Good luck with everything 
--  10/22/2003
'Mother-Trini-from San Fernando, via Venezuela. Myself-from Maracaibo. Married for 22 years and now feeling lost. Am still young, 42, but feel old and lonely. sons grown and at school, starting over, rying to find that ever elusive self-sufficiency and contentment. Interesting website.
 thank you\
 Desiree
 Atlanta, Georgia  10/27/2003
Nobody seems to want to talk to me anymore. 
Peter  11/1/2003
i'm doing a graphic design photographic project on the word "loneliness" and your website was helpful in getting me away from the obvious stereotypes and into the actualities of it. 
listening to the late elliott smith also helps. RIP Elliott
thanks Elena  11/12/2003
I have always felt cut off socially, even as a child. I have suffered from severe depression for many years, and been on the receiving end of bullying many times too. I suffer with a medical condition that makes me fatigued easily though I look healthy. I am in my early 30s and now live as a recluse, apart from seeing a few friends occasionally.
 I never married, and I have accepted a somewhat lonely life. I am told I am a caring genuine person, I am very tall and smart and told I have alot of qualities, but from an early age I always felt 'different'.
 Most of my days these days are spent at home doing Art, painting, reading books, or when I do go out I go walking in the Countryside, I am never seen in pubs or clubs and don't go out at night. I could relate to some of the comments in this book. I really feel for anyone who is in the same situation as me, as I really didn't think there were so many. 
 Racheal  11/13/2003
I have just read your comments on loneliness, and have found them a real insight into how I feel right now. Although being around lots of lovely people in my life, I always feel alone and that I'm somehow missing out. I'm often in a dream world, and often trying to escape. Thanks for making me realise there's probably a whole lot of people just like me! 
Kirsty  11/14/2003
I am feeling lonely right this minute and just happen to look for something on lonliness to see if anyone felt the way i do. and I found your website. You dont know how this makes me feel. I feel someone at least cares and can understand how I feel. Thanks for your site and all the hard work you have put into this and everyone who has helped you with information and everything one day I will put my own life story of loneliness on also.  
Dawn  11/15/2003
Hello from Norway Europe!
Im lonely and Im lost all my life 
And what can I do ? 
Let my life countinue forever the same way until I die ? Changeing life is not easy I think... 
Henning  11/21/2003
I'm 19 years old and from the Netherlands (Europe). I recognize myself in some of the reactions here despite my younger age than most of the visitors. There's no moment that I was completely without friends (although it never where many), but I ain't got a real good friend for about 3 to 4 years now. I also find it hard to contact new people. I'm trying but I've got the feeling that the people I wanna have as my friends, don't want me that way.
About the site: it's great. Like some people all ready said here. It's a good feeling that your not alone in your loneliness. 
Erik  11/29/2003
I really like your website and enjoyed reading through all the material. I have to say, you have reached a nice balance between the academic terms and layman world. I'm glad I found your site, because knowing that the state of loneliness is normal at times and that others are experiencing the same thing, somehow makes me not feel as lonely. I also appreciate your 'coping strategies' section, as you provide solutions and not just the problem. Good site!! 
D  12/1/2003
I was feeling extremely melancholy and lonely today but after reading this website, I feel much better and hopeful. Thank you very much. 
Andy 12/1/2003
Dear Sean,
Your research on loneliness has helped me. I know that I feel loneliness all of the tiem. As I sit and think back, I thnk I was very lonely as a child too, even though I came from a large family. The information is helping me to better understand myself. I could relate to many of your findings. I think that I fall into the category of wanting a caregiver. My parents were an alcoholic and schizophrenic. Not too much caregiving there. I have been divorced for 7 years, but even during marriage I was lonely. I think that I expect my partner to give too much. I hope that I will be able to find some relief from my loneliness. I a believe that some of us are meant for love and some of aren't. Please send me updates or books that I could read that would help. 
Thank-you and good luck on your studies. 
--  12/6/2003
like i said earlier, great site. But there's something that I miss. Music! I think that's also a great way of coping with loneliness. sometimes music just lets me forget the loneliness. the quest for good music (visit stores, ore search on the internet), is also an great activity itself. There are so many good lyrics about loneliness. or just look for songs with other lyrics, or even with no lyrics at all(some techno, house and lbnl TRANCE) that kind of music can make you fly away from everyday life for a while. Cygnus X, Tiesto, Push, Rui Da Silva, and much more.

grtz from NL to all the lonely people in this world, ZeroToNine 
Erik  12/10/2003
I just found your site. I feel deep loneliness especially during the holidays because I live alone but want to find a partner. I have led a very lonely life and it helps to find others who have coped with this in different ways. Maybe someone can inspire me to live happily in the moment till I can change my life for good and leave the past behind... It was very emotionally painful and lonely!  
Deanna  12/12/2003
wonderful, absolutely wonderful, a Godsend...have been searching for answers amid shame and embarrassment...thanks for understanding... 
--  12/14/2003
As a lifelong lonely person, I found the site to be quite accurate in describing my pain and useful in helping me understand my plight. I am really tired of feeling this way and am looking for healthy ways to change things so that I do not spend another 39 years in a lonely hell. I want to change but I'm afraid to. Loneliness, afterall, is all I know.  
Markell64  12/16/2003
Thank you! Your website was quite useful. I was feeling quite desperately suicidal. I think I'll be able to get through the next day . . . and the day after that . . . 
Henry  12/18/2003
confusing. ready to give up. 
rennie  12/24/2003
'some how i have to end this lonliness i have. thanks to this website, it somwhat confirmed some things i knew about myslef. 
im 34, and feel like a complete failure in life with no "real" job, and all my friends are married and we have nothing in common anymore. I work hard at my skills and talents trying to make them work for me. I stsay active doing them because beig inactve will just make me feel lonely. Unfortuanatly, nothing happens after putting serious energy and work. If i had feedback, or another perspective - i would get a better idea of what i might be doing wrong, or how to go about it a different way. Ive always felt lonely becasue i have no one to share my sucsess with , or even conversation. The computer has become my best friend. Id rather have real life freinds, but everytome I go out and do new social activities..I never seem to fit in, or am not included or taken seriously.

lonliness sucks, but im going to get rid of it somehow, which is why i never contemplated suicide. im determined to break this viciious cycle of lonliness which has followed me for well over 10 years. 
anyways...happy holidays to all. And to those others who are loney..dont consider suicide. Sleep if you have to, but keep faith that things will get better.  
--  12/25/2003
I really like your site...I have suffered through loneliness for a very long time and still do to this day. Your site has helped me understand what I and alot of other people go through. I plan on reading more and maybe this site will help me with everything.  
tituscrow  12/29/2003
this site is very useful. I need a lot of information about a loneliness and how to cope with it. 
eric  12/30/2003
Your website and research is interesting--I am using some of the findings for my next sermon.
Joshua 1:5 
Derek  12/30/2003
Thanks, the site really did make me feel better. I'm a (naturally?) anti-social teen who was never good at making strong friendships (I can make friends, it's just that the friendships never seem to go past the surface). Well, thanks to your site, I now know why I fantasize so much ^_^;; I guess my New Year's Resolution will be to build stronger friendships... 
just another lonely person  12/31/2003