Two Kinds of Loneliness

I recently saw a stranger online saying that there’s two kinds of loneliness. 

She said there’s loneliness of being without someone. That’s the kind most think about or mean when they hear or use that word, and it’s certainly not a good feeling.

She went on to say that there’s another kind of loneliness, that most people don’t seem to consider as often —  the kind that comes from not being someone else’s someone. You can be surrounded by and connected with many people, but if not a single one of them really needs or wants anything you have to offer, that’s another kind of loneliness that can be particularly painful. (I really think that may be why some people choose to have children — to create someone who needs and wants you.)

It was suggested that autists in particular may suffer from this second type a lot. I think that may be true, and possibly even more than the other.