11/10/2025
🚩🚩 Why Do So Many Married People Still Feel Lonely? 🚩🚩
According to research, loneliness can have an impact on the relational and sexual well-being of couples. 😔😔
Research indicates that being in an intimate relationship can reduce feelings of loneliness by satisfying a desire to belong. This sense of belonging can serve as a buffer against loneliness, allowing for closeness-initiating behaviours. You can have an intimate partner but still feel lonely. Approximately one in every six older married men and women reports moderate or severe feelings of loneliness.
Isolation vs. loneliness
First and foremost, loneliness does not require social isolation. People can feel lonely even in intimate relationships, as depicted in songs and poems throughout history. Thus, a conceptual distinction between loneliness and social isolation is necessary. Second, loneliness is a subjective experience of emotional isolation, not objective isolation. Therefore, loneliness is caused by the quality of relationships rather than the number or status of social relationships. For example, if we don't feel heard or understood, we may feel emotionally disconnected from our partner.
Loneliness and health
Loneliness is linked to poorer mental health, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. It can also impact one's physical health. Loneliness is also linked to poor relationships and sexual outcomes for couples. That's right, you can be in an intimate relationship but still feel incredibly lonely. As a result, it is in the best interests of both researchers and helping professionals to maintain this complexity in their research and clinical practice.
What new studies say
Research shows that loneliness in intimate relationships can make it hard to think positively about one's partner. Furthermore, it was discovered that loneliness was negatively associated with both men's and women's relational well-being. Moreover, men's self-reported loneliness was negatively related to their spouses' sexual well-being, whereas women's self-reported loneliness was not.
Research continues to challenge our understanding of what constitutes loneliness, who experiences it, and why. Studies show that married people feel lonely, which can affect their relationship and sexual satisfaction.
What can be done to help?
Feeling and expressing gratitude for a partner's positive qualities, as well as viewing them as confidants, can help mitigate the effects of loneliness.
If you are lonely in your intimate relationship and are concerned that it is affecting your or your partner's sexual well-being, skilled interventions from a trained couples therapist are beneficial.
Click www.hopetrustindia.com to schedule an online appointment with a couples therapist.
