If anything possibly 5. I deal with allergies and asthma but have been called a faker. It takes a special person not to notice rashes, watery eyes, stuffiness, wheezy breathing. It isn't to a dangerous, life threatening level but damn if it doesn't cause me serious discomfort and limitations.

I can identify totally with this post. Having a high IQ puts you in a very small group of the population and that group is spread very thinly outside major university cities. It's hard having no-one to talk to on your own level and I get the impression that in the USA it is even harder than in Europe, since there seems to be a positive hostility towards intellectuals. I think this website helps, but it is not the same as having an actual close friend or partner who is on your level. You are young enough to throw yourself into physical activities and use up some energy that way, and I agree, teaching/mentoring can be very rewarding. It sounds as though you have a strong bond with your daughter which is good. I have better arguments/discussions with my children and ex-husband than with pretty well all the other people I meet!
Maybe we should form a 'lonely intellectuals group'.

For me, 1, 2, 4, and 5 would apply.

I work long hours and mix with a variety of people thru that, I also have time with my daughter regularly every week, there are the odd occassions when it would be nice to share the days events but not enough to make me want to change and give up my solitude and down time. I guess if the right person just hove into view it would all fit with no sacrifice but I'm realistic enough to know that ain't gonna happen but I like my own company and always have.
And out of your list No5 is the only one that would come close

I have PTSD and that colors my life. I have always been an introvert and my upbringing while enjoyable and challenging left me lost as I grew up and encountered those who buried their intellectual sides. I am told that I have a high IQ but that doesn't guarnetee anything unless it is paired with a strong dose of common sense. I have trouble relating to people. I haven't owned a TV since 1997 and I don't go to movies anymore as the audience "particpation" spoils it for me. I enjoy my own time and cannot relate to a strong religious, Republican, superior mentality. While I enjoy reading about many subjects and taking classes both for a degree and on my own, the majority of people I see here feel threatened by any change. They think the fifties were just fine thank you! Neither of us understands or wants to discuss what the other sees as worth discussing.

There is also loneliness one can feel inside a committed relationship, when you cannot relate to one another anymore. I think loneliness is something that we have to prepare for as we get older. The longer we survive the more people that were in our lives will perish. Somehow we need to find peace within ourselves and with the mystery of the universe. I always try to remember that Monty Python song, "Always look on bright side of life". I've found that keeping busy is the best cure.

A lot of what you have here resonates. I've always thought I was cursed to a degree with intellect, which definitely puts up a barrier of sorts between myself and a lot of folks that I've encountered. I've always tried to overcome that by being a bit of an extrovert myself but I've really reeled that in in recent years. I'm tired of extending myself only to usually be met with some form of rejection or nonsense. This ride of life can get tricky, huh?

A life without another has no purpose.

I can relate to this post on so many levels. I get lonely a lot.

I feel a little lonely sometimes, but not greatly so. I sometimes feel on the fringe of the people I live among in real life, although I have a couple of close friends I talk with frequently over the phone or internet. I also have anothe close friend in real life. In addition to these, I have some neighbors who I see two or three times a week for a short time. I mainly feel that most of the people who live around are more or less conservative or religious, and I don't know of any other atheists living in my apartment complex. I'm also probably a little more intelligent than most of them, and more intellectual in my interests., That's one thing I like about agnostic.com -- I can find intelligent people, people who really think.

At one time or another, I've experienced 1-5. I'm old enough to be aware that death may come at any time; though, my health is good and might live a couple of decades longer. However, I've not faced 6. Alghough, I've spent much of my formative years alone, I cannot remember long periods of lonliness, perhaps because my curiosity is entertaining. For about 8 years, I suffered pain, like having the three little toes on my left foot cut off. Neither the cause nor the reson it stopped have been diagnosed. During these years, the pain blocked most psychological needs and some physiological.

I was born during WWII, when fathers were away and mothers worked. From my birth, I must have been alone for long perieds (1 & 2 lonliness), which seems to have made lonliness feel normal, because I've seldom suffered from lonliness.

Previously, I though existential lonliness was being alone whith our thoughts, even in a crowd with lively conversation.

Solitude and being alone can (in small doses) help you to sort of find yourself. After a three year relationship ended, I was devastated. I had no purpose it seemed other than, "work, eat, sleep, repeat". But being single, or just alone with my thoughts has helped me to know myself better. Hindsight is 20/20, and knowing what you want out of life is a big factor in how you can combat that loneliness.

Majorly lonely. 1 and 6, although I have no plans on kicking the bucket anytime soon.

Majorly lonely. 1 and 6, although I have no plans on kicking the bucket anytime soon.

I experience 1, 2, 3,4 and a bit of 5. Maybe sometimes a little 6, because I can feel my vitality slowly waning.

About 1: A double-whammy, here. In 2008, my wife of 24 years shot herself in the head right in front of me. And fortune smiled on me, and brought the best woman I have known in my life, and we had 8 wonderful years. And then SHE died, last December. And the dating thing is like cancer. Look, I don't mind talking with someone, and if it's not there, it's not there. But it does get soul-destroying after a while that it is so hard to connect with people.

About 2: I've always been somewhat of a loner, which has probably had the side-effect of people not wanting to include me in their groups. And so, I'm not.

About 3: I live in North Dakota, and I'm a liberal. 'Nuff said.

About 4: I am highly intelligent (my mother told me I tested at 166 as a child. Might be true). I have always been clever, inventive, and highly abstract in my thought. The times I have longed for a lover or a friend who could match me step-by-step are beyond counting. I have learned to hide my intelligence among people, because they resent it. This gives me a PROFOUND sense of alienation, as if I am trapped within this skin.

5 is related to 1, so I won't expound upon it further.

In my opinion, casual sex is only slightly better than masturbation. I like to share....not just my body, you know, my being. It falls a bit flat if that is not being returned. The before and after are really important, the sense of being able to let down the walls, and truly trust another. It seems ironic that this is something SO MANY are looking for, and that successfully finding it is yet so hard. I think it would be a boon to society if we weren't so restrictive in how people are allowed to connect with each other. LIke, for example, you're only allowed to touch lovers and family. Touching friends, even a simple hug, is seen as awkward, at best. And I, for one, enjoy a fierce intellectual argument, just for the dance of ideas.

Tl;dr version: I feel you, sister.

I experience loneliness occasionally, usually on the weekends when the girls are with their dad. It's just me and the pets, and they aren't real good at making conversation.

When I get feeling that way, I annoy my online friends. I have a few that are around and willing to talk, pretty much any time.

After my wife died I felt onely and alone all the time. Now 10 years later I am less botherd being alone and also spend more time around other people, which helps. Vicki was one of the sharpest people I ever met, and we could talk about anything. I miss that more than anything. I want it again.

Sure am right now

I'm an introvert. That's a tough tag to wear. I don't and won't go out much for any reason. I'm not lonely and I have a great living situation. I live with a family member who is a self taught theologian and our conversations are sometimes legendary! I have experienced all 6 of the levels at one time or another and have over the years learned to seriously love me. I'm retired and spend most of my time on my computer and watching TV. It's quite interesting to see how the future is conceptualized in movies that I watched many year ago. I've attempted to meet with women but it's tough because they're all Christians and we usually disagree with each other before night's end and I come home very frustrated. I'm at an age now where the drama that is some women isn't worth the effort so it's just me. Being involved in the growth of new family members is enough for me until that VERY special someone comes along.

Definately #1 with 2-6 mixed in, lol

'1', my wife of 17 years left me, '3' moved from Los Angeles to a small farm town in SW Michigan and I don't like NASCAR or the NHL and '5' cause I have traveled the world many times and have had 20+ surgeries and a few near death experiences...no one gets me.

I am lonely a lot of the time. My "work" life (the music side, at least; writing is by nature solitary) is populated by mostly people younger than me, and I'm close to a few of them, but not many.

July 4 is my birthday so I do feel a bit lonely if I'm by myself

Not really, but kind of yes at the same time. I mostly feel sad that I don't have anyone to share all the cool things about life with. I also feel bad that my son doesn't have a male figure to look up to, other than my father who he doesn't see a ton. Other than that, I like being alone. I think there's plenty fulfillment to be had by yourself.

Very well articulated....for me it would probably be more cultural - not so much loneliness - maybe more "isolation". I spent 25 years working in an office full of not just republicans - but RABID republicans - who teased and referrred to me as "our token tree hugging, granola crunching, birkenstock wearing liberal". Needless to say, I developed a very thick skin. Add that to the fact that every member of my family hates democrats, liberals, etc etc - you can see where I had to learn to either just let it roll off and keep quiet - or spend my entire life endlessly arguing with everyone. Life is just too short for that.