Alleviating Loneliness: Marco Talks About Overcoming Isolation in the Swiss Population

2024-01-27 14:58:00

36 percent of the Swiss population feel lonely. Marco talks about what loneliness feels like, how it comes with it at some point and how he deals with it.

Loneliness is the feeling of being alone. (Symbol image) – unsplash

the essentials in brief

Over a third of Swiss people say they feel lonely.
A person affected explains what loneliness does to him.
It’s an oppressive feeling, he tells Nau.ch.

Loneliness is the feeling of being alone. According to a federal study, 36 percent of the Swiss population say they sometimes feel lonely. So it’s actually a significant problem – yet very little is said about it.

Loneliness is not a disease. However, feeling lonely in the long term can have health consequences: from sleep disorders and back pain to depression. Conversely, those affected by mental illness can drive people even deeper into loneliness.

The Habit: Friend or Foe?

It was the same with Marco. He is now 55 years old and works as a precision mechanic in the canton of Zurich. Almost his entire life was characterized by mild to severe depression. These were the trigger for his loneliness.

It’s an oppressive feeling – he knows it now, Marco tells Nau.ch. But you somehow learn to deal with being alone and become strong as a result. “It’s one thing to be able to be alone, but the habit isn’t always good.”

As time passes, you stop looking at what you can have, Marco continues. The tendency develops to simply do everything alone.

Plans for the future will help

And yet sometimes you are reminded of being alone: “Organizing is not easy. The colleagues have families, are integrated, and they don’t know loneliness. You hear about their plans and at the same time wonder what you should do on Sunday afternoon.”

The feeling is particularly strong after work, when you have to go back to the apartment alone. Even a Saturday morning can be difficult when everyone goes shopping with their families. Or just a Sunday afternoon when you just don’t know what to do with yourself anymore.

A third of the Swiss population feels lonely. (Symbolic image) A person affected tells how he feels and how he deals with it. Marco feels the loneliness most strongly after work, when he has to go back to his apartment alone. (Symbolic image) The feeling also hits him on a Saturday morning while shopping when he sees all the families. (Symbolic image) A “foresight”, as Marco calls it, helps him. If he knows that he has something to do in the evening or can make a phone call, it makes everything more bearable. (symbol image)

It helps to have “foresight,” as Marco calls it. As soon as you know that you have something to do in the evening or can make a phone call, everything becomes more bearable.

The season also plays a role for Marco. “It’s better in the summer – I sometimes go out to draw so that I can socialize with other people again. But the winter time is hard because you just don’t have the energy. There’s always this hopelessness.”

Mental illness as a trigger for loneliness

It’s even more difficult, especially with mental health problems, says Marco. “It throws you up and down. Building something stable is almost impossible. A lot of energy is lost at work, so you can’t do anything in the evening.”

In a good phase, especially in the summer, he can make plans: go out, have a conversation in a restaurant. But in the bad phases everything becomes too much for him: “I go to the pub and then straight back out again.”

A glimmer of hope remains: Marco will spend the spring break with a few people in Spain. He met her by chance during his last vacation. “We had a casual time together and now we have agreed to go there again. At least that’s something I can look forward to.”

Have you ever felt lonely?

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Do you feel lonely?

There are various organizations that address the issue of loneliness and isolation. You can find information and supporting projects here: www.promentesana.ch/angebote/anzeichen-erkennen/dossier-einlichkeit

At the Nordliecht meeting point in Zurich Wipkingen you can have a meal in company for little money. Further information at www.promentesana.ch/selbstdetermin-genesen/alltag-gestalten/nordliecht

Do you need help?

Are you depressed or have suicidal thoughts? Then please contact Dargebotene Hand (www.143.ch) immediately.

You can get help anonymously and around the clock on the free hotline 143. The consultants can show ways out of difficult situations. It is also possible to contact us via an individual chat or anonymous advice via email.