We seem to know at least someone that everyone goes to for advice. It’s usually a friend but sometimes it may be a sibling, mother, or father. These people are the ones that you always feel naturally drawn to when you have some concern or need to unburden yourself with the worries of the day.

When people think about loneliness, some may think of someone who is alone all the time; but being lonely and being alone are different things. Being alone is a physical state where a person could be by themselves a lot of the time.

This doesn’t necessarily mean they are lonely. Some people have less need to be around other people and are quite comfortable to be themselves, and even to do things by themselves. Being lonely is a feeling that you need people but for whatever reason, don’t have access to them. It is a feeling of isolation. Sometimes being alone can also be lonely. There are different types of loneliness that you can face:

Over the course of any given day thousands of people will be seeing a therapist, social worker, or counsellor, and many will be given a mental health diagnosis for the first time as well.

Finding the time and putting effort to look after yourself may seem selfish. Especially for people who have an innate calling to help other people, helping themselves may be the furthest thing from their minds. It is often seen as a selfish thing to do. Even in this day and age when we should know better, you still might feel that way. Due to this reasoning, many people who have a natural affinity to help others often don’t look after themselves.

It may often feel like it, but having some amount of self-doubt is perfectly normal and doesn’t make you a negative person. Self-doubt is that feeling that you aren’t good enough or you aren’t doing something right, so you end up second guessing yourself. In many cases, this can end up backfiring and sabotaging your success.

It’s often said that loneliness can kill. It’s something people often forget but loneliness can absolutely be a bad thing. Loneliness and isolation have been linked to high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and sometimes even death. It’s reasonable to assume that being alone isn’t such a good thing. However, being alone and being lonely aren’t necessarily the same things.

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Going for treatment for an addiction can be a frightening, embarrassing, and frustrating process. One thing it does not have to be, however, is confusing. Most things that will happen should be clearly laid out and explained, some even before a person checks in to a treatment facility. There will be a lot of language thrown out there, that may or may not be familiar, and these words will be used frequently in treatment. Here’s some common terms and meaning in the language of addiction.