ABSTRACT
Loneliness is an inevitable part of the human condition. Prolonged life expectancy and urban living have compounded the problem of loneliness. This chapter discusses the phenomenon of loneliness and its contributing causes. It begins with the author's personal experience and then extends the discussion to aging, urban living, and existential loneliness. The chapter shows how a meaning-centered approach can help alleviate the problem of loneliness in various life situations. The meaning-centered approach consists of both public education on meaningful living and the professional practice of Meaning-therapy. This therapy capitalizes on people's innate capacity for meaning-seeking and meaning-making, especially in storytelling and transforming negatives into positives. It also emphasizes that effective Meaning-therapy depends on forming a genuine and trusting relationship between therapist and client as a model for building a broader relationship network. This chapter also proposes that a more comprehensive way to overcome loneliness is to develop habits of meaningful living, which seeks to strike a healthy balance.
