THE GUARDIAN: The extreme loneliness of lockdown: 'Even though my partner is here, I’m struggling to cope'

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Pamela Qualter, a professor of psychology for education at the University of Manchester, defines loneliness as “not necessarily about being on your own, but about feeling a disconnect with other people – a sense that the relationships you have aren’t satisfying your emotional needs,” she says. “Loneliness is a subjective experience, so it’s not always obvious to us. There are some people who are currently isolated who will not get lonely and there are others who will really struggle.”

In 2018, Qualter led a BBC study into loneliness among the British public that found that, out of the 55,000 respondents, a third said they often feel lonely. It is a situation she believes is being exacerbated by the lockdown. “Our isolation is going to trigger loneliness in many people, some who might never have experienced it for extended periods of time before,” she says. “You might be with your family and feel lonely, since we fall into different roles and hide parts of ourselves with family, or you might feel lonely even if you are video-calling constantly, as that can sometimes emphasise our distance from others.”