How to Cope with Loneliness during the Covid-19 Pandemic? Perspectives of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3367372
AutoresXiaojun Ding (0000-0001-6951-3785, Xi'an Jiaotong University, autor correspondente), Bingxing Shang (0000-0003-3946-3961, Xi'an Jiaotong University), Fang Yu (0000-0001-7385-163X, Wuhan University, autor correspondente), Feng Yu (0000-0001-8646-1040)
Ano2022
Volume13
Fascículo11
Páginas1085
Data de publicação2022-11-10
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditoraMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel13111085
OpenAlexW4308702930
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas134

The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed people's long-standing group life, and "less gathering" has become a popular slogan during this period. People will probably feel lonely when they are physically, socially, or mentally distanced and isolated or excluded, and they usually perceive a deficiency in the quality or quantity of their social relationships. Although loneliness is easily conflated with solitude, loneliness as an emotion is generally regarded as negative while solitude can be positive. There are various causes and effects of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and loneliness has been found to have significant impacts on poorer physical and mental health. Religiosity and spirituality are specifically proven to have a great impact on handling loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. When regarding belongingness as the opposite of loneliness and social isolation, religious belonging means a feeling of being "at home" and "connected". In this paper, from a comparative approach, we attempt to investigate how the three most prominent traditions in East Asia, i.e., Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, can help manage the feeling of loneliness. Due to different understandings of loneliness, their coping strategies for loneliness also vary. Through a preliminary study of "benevolence and rites," "wu-wei and freedom," and "mindfulness and spiritual realization," we can learn from the ancient wisdom about how to reduce loneliness and promote spiritual well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Belongingness · Buddhism · Feeling · Loneliness · Mental health · Psychotherapist · Social isolation · Solitude · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Health disparities and outcomes · History · Psychology · Social Psychology