Is Your Teen Lonely or Alone? How to Tell the Difference

By Susan Borison

As mother and father, one in every of our greatest fears is that our youngster is lonely. It retains us up at night time. But, on the identical time, we additionally acknowledge that generally being alone is each needed and completely acceptable.

Courtney Evenchik, Director of Faculty Psychology Providers at A+ Options, explains the distinction between being alone and being lonely:

It’s necessary to know the character and temperament of your youngster. If in case you have a toddler who’s an introvert, then they get their power from being alone. They is likely to be alone much more than an extrovert, a toddler who’s at all times on the market getting their power from being with associates and socializing. 

There’s no drawback with being alone and being completely satisfied being alone. But it surely’s after we’re feeling lonely and remoted that it turns into an issue.

Being Alone vs Being Lonely

It’s okay to have some alone time however when your teen is feeling lonely, they may really feel down and spend extra time of their room than they usually would. They might want to have experiences however can’t get themselves as much as do them. They might really feel like they want they will on the market, however they only can’t do it. 

Generally, when mother and father and youths have totally different personalities, it’s arduous for fogeys to grasp the distinction between being alone and lonely. A guardian who’s on the market on a regular basis making pal and speaking with the neighbors and making events could not consider that their teen is proud of one pal and is ok simply hanging out of their room.

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Nonetheless, when you discover that your teen has modified, then it could be trigger for concern. If, say, they used to have a whole lot of associates and now, no person is looking them and no person is reaching out, which may be trigger for concern and require some form of intervention.