I am a brand new member. I found this website yesterday, when I did a search on "lonliness". As I read through so many postings, it struck me how incredibly wise women are, and how willing we are to reach out to each other.

It made me feel better to be reminded that I'm definitely not the first person to struggle with loneliness and the vicious cycle that takes on a life of its own - lonliness/isolation/withdrawal = feeling even more lonely.

Thank you to each and every one of you who so generously shared your thoughts, for it has truly helped me. I needed to be reminded that sometimes you have to make yourself move out of your comfort zone to break the cycle and talking to other women about their similar experiences is probably even more important. Why do we put so much importance on maintaining an appearance of self-sufficiency? When it seems that behind that mask, most (or all) of us are struggling with the same issues?

God bless you all.