Research suggests actively concealing your real self from the people around you produces a form of loneliness that's measurably harder on the mind than physical isolation - Silicon Canals

"The subjective experience of being unseen tracks poorly with the objective fact of being alone. What predicts the distress most reliably is not the absence of other people but the active suppression of the self in their presence."

"Self-concealment is the active, ongoing suppression of personal information one perceives as negative or distressing. This management carries a cost that compounds quietly over time."

"Choosing not to share something is privacy; that is healthy, and everyone does it. Self-concealment is a different animal, constantly managing what others are permitted to see."

Loneliness is often misunderstood; it is not merely the absence of others but the suppression of the self in their presence that causes distress. Self-concealment, defined as the active suppression of negative personal information, differs from privacy. While privacy is healthy, self-concealment leads to significant mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. Researchers have established that low self-disclosure is different from high self-concealment, which involves constant management of what others can see, resulting in compounded costs over time.

Read at Silicon Canals