MINI REVIEW

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Translated by Shaut L.S. Hutabarat, loneliness is the seed of a condition that fosters many problems that undermine the soul of modern humans. Dr. Paul Tournier, a prominent Swiss psychiatrist, called it the most devastating disease of our time. Being lonely so much in achieving many of our most frustrating problems. In gathering opinions from psychiatric patients, 80 percent of those interviewed claimed that loneliness was the main reason why they sought help. In-depth research on those who attempt suicide, whose numbers typically reach half a million people per year in the United States alone, reveal that loneliness is what drives most of them to take such extreme steps. How lonely encourages humans to drink liquor, until alcohol becomes an unusual escape again. Loneliness struck without choosing age, place or situation. For example, for example, there are lonely small children whose parents have very little time for them. There are lonely teenagers, increasing in the present than ever before, who feel incomprehensible and alienated from older people. There is loneliness in the marriage bond, here many couples feel alienated from their mates even though they live together in the most intimate relationships. And perhaps the saddest is the loneliness suffered by elderly people who often feel useless and unwanted.

Young or old, rich or poor, lonely attacks us all the time, and often for no apparent reason. In the research of the author, the author immediately found out that immersing yourself in a crowd is not the answer to overcoming loneliness. No one runs furiously so they are not alone than Americans. Americans are members of various clubs and participate in expensive sporting events, hasty runs from cocktail parties to nightclubs, overcrowded theaters, to concert halls, museums that are flooded with people and burst into crowded sidewalks and traffic flow the dense one. And all these efforts are futile. They are still lonely. The author suggests three steps to conquer this mental disorder. First is to recognize loneliness as it is. Loneliness is an enemy, a disease that undermines happiness, alienates us from all things that are valuable in life, makes our minds tainted and hurt. Trying to consider loneliness as a friend or even as a cross that must be borne, can be very detrimental to the tranquility of the soul. And it is not the fact that our most acute loneliness comes when we are lavish with sadness.

Second is to distinguish between loneliness and solitude. Both are very different. Loneliness can bring loneliness, and indeed often times. But it really doesn't need to be. Some of the most cheerful and productive people I know are people who have to be alone often, but rather learn to use their solitude creatively. In reality we do need moments to be alone, from that moment we arouse physical and spiritual strength to face busier days. We have all experienced loss because of the death of our loved ones and friends. It is we who determine whether this loss causes temporary sadness or it will cause us to suffer a crippling loneliness. Third is to involve yourself in service for others. Armed with a crisis that engulfs a community - such as a whirlwind, snowstorm, or flood - people reach out, regardless of racial differences or social differences, to help each other. But many people we meet every day who experience floods, disasters and psychological whirlwinds are more devastating than any physical storm. The fact that we must be aware of as mortal humans is that with whatever name we call it, in essence it is the primary creator of loneliness. Sin separates us from fellow humans and from God.