Being alone VS Loneliness

Dear diary,

Pagi tadi I sempat breakfast sambil tengok Australian morning talkshow from channel Prime. Program ni ala ala Malaysia Hari Ini atau Selamat Pagi Malaysia lah. The only difference is our tv personalities always look extra beautiful in the screen whereas theirs are a little bit more simple. I yang dah terbiasa tengok pengacara cantik dekat Malaysia kadang kadang rasa ntah apa apa je mat salleh ni pakai. Tapi kualiti penyampaian, memang tak dinafikan setanding. Eh, nama pun personaliti tv, mestila bijak berkata kata tak kira la kat negara mana sekali pun kan? kan?

Okay, lets skip the not so important part. What I would like to highlight here is the topic of their discussion, Being Alone or Loneliness During Christmas. Since the big celebration is just around the corner, now everything related to Christmas will be the hottest topic in town. Macam kita la, tiba tiba ada talkshow yang bincang pasal Keseorangan di Aidil Fitri. Oh no! Nightmare! Nightmare! Hallu cik kak, topik ni pun mau bincang ka? Sensitif okayy! Mau meleleh air mata orang yang terlibat kalau dengar tau tak.. T__T

Anyhow, I love the way they presented the ideas and now I'm able to differentiate those two terms. Being alone and loneliness. The description of BEING ALONE is more towards solitude. And solitude can have positive effects on individuals. It is also associated with other positive growth such as emotionally refreshing, religious experiences and identity building provided if it is under the individual's control. Huh? Apa yang kau cuba ceritakan ni Amirah? Confuse lah!

Okay, let me give you one simple example, hmm, about a student who has exam the next day. The student is worried about the exam and decides to spend some time studying alone. Without we notice, the alone time actually helps the student to study better and when she/he is done, the student feels better. Tak kira la boleh jawab exam ke tidak kan, yang penting dia dah usaha. What I mean here is, being alone is the state where that person chooses to be in. For his/her own good.

Sometimes I found it good to study alone like this
(photo courtesy, http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/objects-equi)

While the other term, LONELINESS, means the other way around. It is therefore a subjective experience, like a strong sense of emptiness. It is frequently compared to feeling empty, not needed and worthless. It can result from unwanted solitude. To make it even worse, it does not require being alone and is experienced even in crowded place.

Being alone in solitary isolation
(photo courtesy, blog.itechtalk.com/2009/how-to-lose-loneliness/)

For instance, a person can be in the middle of a party but the feeling of loneliness is still there because lack of communication with people around him/her. Perasaan keseorangan ini biasanya lahir dengan sendiri dan mungkin ada kaitan dengan kisah hidup yang lepas. Childhood experience, love break up, consequence of divorce, or loss of significant person in one's life. So here, one might feel lonely even in the company of others. Alamak, parah la macam tu kan..

So, if you ever experience any of these states, try to exclude yourself from your own isolated world. Talk to others and find a way not to keep everything to yourself. Socialize a little bit. Dah la sunyi, jangan la burukkan keadaan dengan hidup sorang sorang. Kalau jadi apa apa nanti sapa yang susah?

p/s: Nah, ambik kau ceramah untuk hari ni. Amirah ni bukan boleh dibagi peluang, selagi tak sumbat mulut dia dengan makanan, maka takkan diamlah dia. Kasi je pisang sebijik. Comfirm diam sebab tekun mengunyah.hihihi. Okay, sambung ceramah di lain segmen. Sekarang I nak menikmati rasa pisang. Bye bye!