Existential isolation is the subjective feeling that every human life experience is essentially unique and can be understood only by themselves, creating a gap between a person and other individuals, as well as the rest of the world.
Those who do may feel a weaker connection to other individuals and question their beliefs and understanding of the world as they lack social validation.
Measured as either a state or trait, empirical studies have shown Existential isolation undermines life meaning and decreases well-being; people scoring high on Existential Isolation report lower levels of need satisfaction, purpose in life, and meaningfulness and increased death-related concerns.
[8] Individuals with existential isolation may have poorer therapy outcomes, are less satisfied with the mental health treatment they receive, and have worse beliefs about the therapist’s expertise.
[4] Professionals can bypass existential isolation-related issues by ensuring authenticity in the counselling relationship, engaging in I-sharing, and encouraging active participation in behavioral healthcare.
Scores on this scale predict different psychological and interpersonal outcomes such as causing uncertainty about one's perception of reality or impairing one’s sense of belonging.
[11] State existential isolation can be elicited by acute experiences such as specific events or individual comparisons to other reference groups.
[11][12] Trait existential isolation can be elicited by chronic causes such as sociocultural factors or aspects of the socialisation process.
It can lead to social withdrawal, feelings of hopelessness and resulting chronically depleted needs, lower global in-group identity, and increase of an individual’s vulnerability to depression.
[13] Interpersonal isolation refers to a phenomenon where persons feel disconnected from others and experience a shortage of social contact.
[14] Women tend to place more importance on communal values than men, which are group-oriented and lead to a feeling of interconnection and interdependence.
In a meta-study, three studies are compared which present a tendency towards a positive correlation between existential isolation and insecure attachment.
[12] Individuals who feel that they do not belong to a social group or community may also experience a greater sense of existential isolation.
This has been found to be connected to diminished physical well-being and reduced responsiveness to treatment services concerning improvement of psychosocial functioning.
[11] There is relationship between non normative group memberships, which included race, ethnicity, sexuality, and the experiences of existential isolation.