Loneliness, memory, and trauma
Context
Loneliness is known to predict poor mental and physical health and there is ongoing concern about its prevalence. It is a recognised public health problem, and its increase is sometimes termed a loneliness epidemic. In addition to its effects on individuals, societal consequences include considerable healthcare costs.
Interest in loneliness has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, including in philosophy where it is widely understood as a response to the absence of, and difficulty in acquiring, desired social goods. However, less attention has been given to especially disruptive forms of loneliness, such as those arising in the context of trauma, which appear to be especially resistant to resolution.
The research
Our research focuses on especially disruptive forms of loneliness, such as post-traumatic loneliness. Detailed first-person accounts suggest characteristics which don’t follow the pattern of loneliness as widely understood. Empirical research acknowledging the likelihood of loneliness subtypes also suggests post-traumatic loneliness is especially pernicious and difficult to manage. We seek to explain these plausibly distinctive features by investigating the relationships between loneliness, memory, and trust.
Our account of post-traumatic loneliness emphasises the role of intrusive memory experiences in maintaining feelings of disconnection, alienation, and distrust. It draws upon a conception of intrusive memories as disruptions of recognitional capacities resulting in misattributions of the causes of distress.
Featured publications
- Review of Philosophy and Psychology.
- The ethics of trauma memory. Global Philosophy, 35
- Perturbações na experiência corporal e na experiência de si na solidão crônica. Revista de Filosofía
- Feeling lonely: Toward a phenomenological account of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moral Challenges in a Pandemic Age.