“What do you do that causes her to treat you that way?” was a question my counseling professor, Fr. Dr. Robert McEniry (Creighton University), taught his students to ask in a marriage counseling situation. The question presupposes that the responsibility for what happens between married partners is on each of them, not just one of […]
Category: Kick in the Pants
Danger Ahead: Extreme Responses to Loneliness
Everyone endures bouts of loneliness from time to time. They are usually short-lived because the causes are either social (broke up with their girl/boyfriend, got a divorce, had a fight with their best friend, etc.), or geographical (moved to another job, town, school, etc.). Mentally healthy people adapt quickly to new situations and are able […]
What Lonely People Say
What’s your reason for being lonely? There are reasons and there are misguided excuses. You can identify which are excuses and which are reasons by hearing what lonely peoples say. “I’m alone by no choice of my own.” Some years ago I knew a lady who wanted to save her marriage from destruction. She had […]
Eight Causes of Loneliness
At every season in life, loneliness of some degree is unavoidable: Intransigence – change, tragedy – joy, failure – success, birth – death, love- hate, war – peace, life itself, all contribute to social interaction or social disconnect. What are the causes of loneliness? Here are eight common causes of loneliness: Abuse (often referred to […]
Shocking Death Reveals Loneliness
Roy Geno’s body was found draped in a tree. It was below an embankment that dropped some 50 feet to railroad tracks near Nineteenth and Mason Streets in Omaha, Nebraska. A 9-year-old girl walking with her aunt along the tracks saw the body. Police investigated but nobody knew what really happened. Geno could have fallen […]
Who Are the Lonely?
By Ron Ross More than one out of three adults 45 and older reported they were chronically lonely, according to a survey done by the AARP in 2010. The definition given for “chronically lonely” makes the report even sadder; chronically lonely means they have been lonely for a long time. This loneliness persists in a […]