Intellectual Loneliness

Addiction Counselors and entrepreneurs working alone may suffer from intellectual loneliness. Intellectual loneliness is a term I coined to represent the lonely feeling a person feels when there is no intellectual stimulation; no one to bounce ideas off of, or simply to have an intellectual discussion with someone with shared interests and passions.

I mean how time do I have to spend each day looking at your child’s face from 17 different angles on social media? Or your latest boyfriend with hundreds more lying in wait when things just don’t work out?

A recent study showed that having social contact with live people, not engrossed in their cellphones was just as effective as an anti-depressant. The problem is where do you find serious people who are willing to share their stories, aside from Linkedin, of course.

But even on LI, how many dog and pony shows do I need to cull through to find someone interesting to hear my story and vice versa?

Podcast, newscasts, blogs and articles all have value of their own. But it’s like reading 100 self help books, when really what you need is to talk to a counselor or other mental health professional.

I used to do this all the time. I think over my 40 year business career, I’ve probably bought every self help book known to man (and women). PC. What I did was go to my wife within each book and find something else wrong with me. Today, you just go to Google or WebMD to diagnose yourself. Well, my wife put me on a “self help book diet.” I was no longer allowed to find new things wrong with me.