I think you make an important distinction between living alone and being socially isolated. Heck, you can live with someone and still be socially isolated if you're not emotionally connected to the person you're living with. And there are some days I fantasize about living alone again! And I really don't think you can come to some of these conclusions just by observation of which people take antidepressants. Certainly, there are people who are depressed that don't take them.
I live alone (well, with my dog and cat), but I also live in a small town with all my family and friends an easy distance from me, so I am not "alone" by any means. However, I very easy become socially isolated despite this. This is mostly my own fault, as I am so savagely protective of my feelings that I can't seem to share anything with anyone. Thus, in my depression, I am alone despite all the people around me. I definitely agree that loneliness make depression worse. When you keep everything to yourself, the burden seems much worse. If you never discuss your feelings with anyone else, you don't have other information to go on except the irrational feeling from your own head.
Thanks for contributing.
You make a very important distinction here between being alone and becoming lonely. When one tips into the other it can become worrying - as seems to have been the case with you. Social relationships, unless they are very well embedded, are such fragile things. It's so easy to slip away from social contacts and hardly even be noticed. I guess in your case your protection of your privacy works to your advantage sometimes but not at others.
Jerry
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If I HAD to live with someone else, now THAT would make me depressed! I get all the socialization I need by calling friends, meeting them for lunch, and talking to people at church. Then I want lots of ALONE time. That's the only way I can stay sane.
Nice one, Donna.
I lived alone when I was young. Like you, I was absolutely fine with some solitude. All I had to do was step out of the door, or make a call, and I was back in contact.