Existential loneliness
An attempt at an analysis of the concept and the phenomenon
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23337697 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ingrid Bolmsjö (0000-0003-0626-4472, Malmö University, corresponding author), Per-Anders Tengland (0000-0002-1224-3291, Malmö University), Margareta Rämgård (0000-0003-1235-620X, Malmö University) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1310-1325 |
| Publication date | 2019-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nursing Ethics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0969-7330 • E-ISSN: 1477-0989 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0969733017748480 |
| PMID | 29471724 |
| OpenAlex | W2789618400 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 57 |
| References cited | 27 |
BACKGROUND: According to ethical guidelines, healthcare professionals should be able to provide care that allows for the patients' values, customs and beliefs, and the existential issues that are communicated through them. One widely discussed issue is existential loneliness. However, much of the debate dealing with existential loneliness concludes that both the phenomenon and the concept are quite vague. AIM: To clarify what constitutes existential loneliness, and to describe its lived experiences. A further aim was to provide a definition of existential loneliness that can function as a tool for identifying the phenomenon and for differentiating it from other kinds of loneliness. METHOD: A literature review including theoretical and empirical studies. Different search strategies were used to gather the articles included in the study. The analysis of the empirical studies had an interpretative approach. The articles were also analysed with the aim of providing a definition of existential loneliness. This was done by means of criteria such as language, uniqueness, theory and usefulness. This study is not empirical and does therefore not require an ethics review. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in two main characteristics. The first one was perceiving oneself as inherently separated (disconnected) from others and from the universe. The second one brings out emotional aspects of EL, such as isolation, alienation, emptiness and a feeling of being abandoned. The empirical findings were divided into two categories: experiences of EL and circumstances in which EL arises. A definition of EL is also suggested, based on the two main characteristics identified. CONCLUSION: In order to meet patients' needs, it is an ethical duty for healthcare staff to be able to recognise experiences of EL, that is, to communicate with the patients about these experiences in an appropriate manner. This in turn demands knowledge about existential issues and skills to deal with them.
Alienation · Empirical research · Emptiness · Epistemology · Existentialism · Feeling · Isolation (microbiology) · Loneliness · Phenomenon · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Patient Dignity and Privacy · Philosophy · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Social Psychology
One Battle After Another
Existential loneliness and meaning-in-life in the lived experience of nursing home residents
You have got to get off your backside; otherwise, you’ll never get out”
The loneliness pandemic
Interventions that prevent or reduce perinatal loneliness and its proximal determinants
The effect of parental regulatory focus on the loneliness stigma of college children
Green space and loneliness
Predictive factors and risk and protection groups for loneliness in older adults
Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions of Loneliness amongst Older Adults
Arts engagement supports social connectedness in adulthood
Validation of Two Existential Loneliness Scales in Emerging Adults
Navigating the Unseen
I just feel alone and by myself”
It’s a feeling of complete disconnection”
An existential entanglement
Stories of aloneness in childhood
Alone in the Covid‐19 lockdown
Older adults’ experiences of being at a senior summer camp—A phenomenographic study
The Existential Issues and Attitude Toward Marriage in Single Youth
The brief scale of existential loneliness
Who thinks about death? A psychoanalytically informed interpretive study of communication about death among nursing home staff
Experiences and social constructions of loneliness in later life
Loneliness, social dislocation and invisibility experienced by older men who are single or living alone
A Systematic Literature Review of Loneliness in Community Dwelling Older Adults
Navigating the theoretical landscape of loneliness research
Austerity, Ageism, and the Rhetoric of Self-reliance
Social workers’ encounters with loneliness and social isolation
Speaking Through Silence
Loneliness, coping practices and masculinities in later life
Meeting death and embracing existential loneliness
Trapped and lost in transition - existential loneliness during adolescence described in retrospect by Swedish university students
I am just a shadow of who I used to be'-Exploring existential loss of identity among people living with chronic conditions of Long Covid
Providing Specialised Palliative Care to Families With Ethnic Minority Background
It doesn’t Always Have to Be an Expert”
They’re Going to Die at Some Point, but We’re all Going to Die’ – A Qualitative Exploration of Bereavement in Later Life
Loneliness and Social Connectedness in Mental Health
A Life Without Children
When Meaning Making Doesn’t Work
Feeling Lonely, Isolated and Depressed. Older Adults’ Feelings in Long-term Term Facilities
Exploring the Distinct Roles of Existential Loneliness, Existential Isolation, and General Loneliness in Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults
The relation between physical and social neighbourhood characteristics and loneliness. A systematic review
A scoping review exploring the ‘grey area’ of suicide-related expression in later life
Mapping Existential Loneliness
Listening to the voice of older people
A gradual separation from the world
Time- and place-dependent experiences of loneliness in assisted living facilities
What is epistemic loneliness
Does urban greenness reduce loneliness and social isolation among Canadians? A cross-sectional study of middle-aged and older adults of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)
The Path to Loneliness for Psychiatric Patients
Loneliness in Later Life as Existential Inequality
Sensory Dislocation and Transnational Ties
Loneliness in Brazil
My Scar
There but not really involved
It's a lonely old world
Spiritual issues, beliefs, needs, and resources in palliative healthcare providers
Guidelines for evaluating and reporting social isolation and loneliness interventions
| Unique citing works | 57 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 9,5 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 53 |