Loneliness is like a creeping death. It starts out painful, but you rationalize it; I'm going to be alone for a little bit, I need to heal from my last relationship, I need to work on me, blah blah blah. So you accept it. And time passes. And you get older. And the older you get, the more likely it becomes that the loneliness will be lasting. You realize this one day, and you want to stop it. But you can't. You've spent so much time trying to live your life alone and claw out your own existence that no one - young or old - sees you as a prospective partner. Sure, people might think you're a decent guy, might even adorn you with adjectives like "strong" and "brave," simply for enduring and persevering. But they're all empty accolades. People would also say, "oh, there's someone out there for you, you just have to wait." And year after lonely year unfolds before you, bringing nothing new, nothing to look forward to. And it's not like there aren't other reasons to keep living. But loneliness makes the effort much more excruciating, more draining, as you move rapidly toward your first and last meeting with the Grim Reaper. Loneliness can (and does) shorten life expectancy. Ultimately, loneliness is fatal.

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