[Isolation and Loneliness Shaped by Society and the Mind]

Loneliness is sometimes described as a modern disease; however, it also has adaptive functions. Several problems related to loneliness arise when the temporary loneliness that people experience in their daily lives becomes chronic. In this article, we examined the process through which distortions in interpersonal information processing mediate the chronicization of temporary loneliness by referring to findings in psychology and neuroscience. We also examined the formation process of the loneliness concept and feelings of loneliness as a cluster of emotions from the perspective of the history of emotions, and considered what kind of interpersonal environment would prevent loneliness in modern society.