how bad is it that i am looking up the psychological effects of loneliness?

[EdgeCrusher]

i can feel myself slipping. going down a dark road that i dont want to go down. how bad is it that i am looking up the psychological effects of long term loneliness? because i am starting to see and feel certain behaviors that i think are a result of this.

 

[Anomaly]

I don't think curiosity itself is a bad thing unless it affects you in a way which leads you to false diagnoses or obsession or the like.

 

[EdgeCrusher]

i just dont think i would be looking it up if i wasnt atleast somewhat worried about the future of my mental state in some way.

 

[Anomaly]

You can admit the existence of certain probabilities, but try to force yourself to not dwell on such thoughts by intellectualizing the issue. Potentiality, firstly, is not already actualized.

 

[EdgeCrusher]

thats a problem i do have though. my mind never shuts up so i tend to dwell on stuff. even then the thoughts and behaviors slowly become more noticeable and frequent. i feel like i need companionship in order for it to stop. if i had that i dont think i would be having the problems and thoughts i am having.

 

[Anomaly]

Do you suspect you may have OCD-like tendencies? I think that may be something you may wish to address in itself if that is the case. You may consider various courses so as to not place overwhelming importance upon companionship, although I think it should be sought nonetheless.

 

[EdgeCrusher]

i know i have OCD-like tendencies. i have a few things that i know have to be OCD. i think its starting to develop into certain other behaviors and thoughts because of the lack of companionship and general lack of ever having any sort of real physical intimacy.

 

[BlackPuma]

I think anyone here has done it at one point in their lives. I don't think it's that bad that you're looking for it.

But, and I don't mean it condescending when I say this, it requires a lot of isolation for a person to become significantly effected by loneliness. And with that I mean that you'd have to be somewhere where there isn't a soul to be found for thousands of miles, for years on end.

It would be more efficient to look for methods to reduce the feeling of loneliness (online or elsewhere), instead of looking for the long term results of it.