Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly being recognised as a priority public health problem and policy issue worldwide, with the effect on mortality comparable to risk-factors such as smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. From the Abyss of Loneliness to the Bliss of Solitude sheds much-needed light on a multifaceted global phenomenon of loneliness, and investigates it, together with its counterpart solitude, from an exciting breadth of perspectives: detailed studies of psychoanalytic approaches to loneliness, developmental psychology, philosophy, culture, arts, music, literature, and neuroscience. The subjects covered also range widely, including the history and origins of loneliness, its effects on children, the creative process, health, lone wolf terrorism, and shame.
This is a timely and important contribution to a growing problem – greatly exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic – that has serious effects on both life quality and expectancy. It addresses the developmental and communicative causes of loneliness, its neurophysiological correlates and artistic representations, and how loneliness differs to solitude, which some consider necessary for creativity. It also provides insights into how we can help those suffering from loneliness, as classical psychoanalytic papers are revisited, contemporary therapeutic perspectives presented, and detailed case presentations offered.
From the Abyss of Loneliness to the Bliss of Solitude is essential reading for mental health professionals and those searching for a better understanding of what it means to be lonely and how the lonely can better voice their loneliness and step out of it.
Aleksandar Dimitrijević, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. He works as a lecturer at the International Psychoanalytic University and in private practice in Berlin. He has given lectures, seminars, university courses, and conference presentations throughout Europe and in the US. He is the author of many conceptual and empirical papers about attachment theory and research, psychoanalytic education, and psychoanalysis and the arts, some of which were translated into German, Hungarian, Italian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Turkish. He has also edited or co-edited eleven books or special journal issues, the most recent of which are Ferenczi’s Influence on Contemporary Psychoanalytic Traditions (with Gabriele Cassullo and Jay Frankel, 2018) and Silence and Silencing in Psychoanalysis (with Michael B. Buchholz, 2020).
Prof. Dr. Michael B. Buchholz studied psychology and social sciences, fully trained as a psychoanalyst, training analyst in Göttingen (Germany), taught social psychology at International Psychoanalytic University (IPU) in Berlin until retirement in autumn 2020. His main interests are to combine psychoanalysis and the study of psychotherapeutic conversation, thus the application of conversation analysis as a method of microscopic observation applicable in social situations, including of violence. He has published more than 25 books and more than 300 papers on family therapy, treatment technique, supervision, conversation analysis, and violence.
Christopher Bollas, author of ‘The Shadow of the Object’ –
‘The most intelligently planned and accomplished book of essays on a topic I have encountered—either in the field of psychology or the humanities—this is a work for everyone and deserves a broad readership. Comprehensive and creative, this study of loneliness and solitude is a treasure-house of ideas and a “must read”.’
Jane McAdam Freud, artist, Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors –
‘What a necessary and welcome book during these challenging times! As an artist, I particularly enjoyed the perspectives proposing that places of loneliness relate to physical spaces which can be a counterpart for creativity and cure against loneliness.’
Professor Julian Stern, President of the International Society for Research on Solitude, co-editor of the ‘Bloomsbury Handbook of Solitude, Silence and Loneliness’ –
‘This is a remarkable book in bringing together such a wide range of subtle, scholarly, and eloquent accounts of solitude and loneliness. The 2020s is a time of flourishing for research on aloneness, and this is a superb psychoanalytic framing of the many disciplines and cultures – religious, artistic, clinical, social and political – of the positive and negative varieties and meanings of being alone. Alive to the historical, literary, and musical expressions of solitude, and with detailed accounts of therapeutic encounters, From the Abyss of Loneliness to the Bliss of Solitude will provide excellent dialogic company for clinicians and for all interested in aloneness.’
Salman Akhtar, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College, Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia –
‘Highlighting the pervasive presence of painful loneliness and a comparable absence of contemplative solitude in our modern society, Aleksandar Dimitrijević and Michael B. Buchholz offer us a multifaceted text on these important human experiences. They have enlisted a roster of distinguished international colleagues who, together with the two editors themselves, elucidate various aspects of loneliness in adults and children, deploying the perspectives of epidemiology, neurology, child developmental studies, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis. The result is a nuanced tapestry of thought that underscores the tragedy of psychic isolation as well as the triumph of regenerative retreat from the cacophony of constant interaction. This is a superb addition to our literature!’
Professor Mark Solms, Research Chair, International Psychoanalytical Association –
‘This book shows us why psychoanalysis exists and reminds us that it is indispensable. How else are we to understand such profoundly important things?’
G. Seror III, Dickinson State University, ‘CHOICE’ May 2023 –
‘[B]oth necessary and deeply engaging. […] Though common themes run throughout and there is much agreement across all chapters and authors, each chapter nevertheless offers a unique contribution to the volume. This timely and accessible work is highly recommended for students of psychology, seasoned practitioners, or just curious readers trying to make sense of the paradoxes of modern life.’
Carlo Bonomi, PhD, ‘The American Journal of Psychoanalysis’, 2023 –
‘Splendid book […] [The authors] engage the reader in a vast and articulate journey around the places of solitude and loneliness ranging from world history to the analyst’s consulting room, without disconnecting it from the quest for a silent empty space in which the sound of being resonates.’
Alberto Stefana, ‘International Forum of Psychoanalysis’, 2023 –
‘From the Abyss of Loneliness to the Bliss of Solitude: Cultural, Social and Psychoanalytic Perspectives is an outstanding work that deserves to be considered as a go-to resource on loneliness and solitude for psychoanalytically oriented clinicians, researchers, and scholars, as well as for lay people interested in the topic. More generally, the themes of this book deserve to be the subject of open, informed, and public discussion to enable society to address them appropriately.’
No. 2/2025 of the journal PSYCHE – Z PSYCHOANAL (vol. 79, pp. 173-178) –
In the five chapters that complement the classifications of the classic essays, experienced psychoanalysts share their thoughts on loneliness based on their own therapeutic work, all with a strong sensitivity to clinical detail.
(Translated from the German original)