Is it normal to feel alone and sad being an only child?

I am an only child also. I used to cry when I was little because I wanted a brother or sister. My mother miscarried the other ones. I had loads of friends. I used to dress my dog in my clothes.
Now, I have my own family. My parents died within 6 weeks of each other 10 years ago. Even though I had my own family I felt like an orphan losing them so close together. Still do. My mother was 12 of 13 children. My mom moved to the west coast. Her brothers and sisters are all back east. They are strangers to me. I only met them like 4 times in my life. I have cousins I don't know.
My dad had a brother. My cousin lives back east also. She's a stranger also.
Being the only child sucks. I feel lonely alot. Still wishing sometimes for a brother or sister. Some kind of connection. Someone else to talk to about growing up.
Peace

Hey I'm an only child too, and yes it ds suck. Whenever I talk to my friends and I tell them I'm an only child they always say 'Lucky!' and I reply 'Um... Not really.'

hey im an only child an i hate it! i do understan what u said,everyone i know has a brother or sister, i dont have a mum and dont have any relationship with my dad, i dont have any good friends and i do get lonely sometimes :( i have been wanting to meet new people that also dont have any siblings

I also agree with you

I grew up as an only kid all my life, I'm 19 now and in college. My dad has 5 kids from another lady he married, then divorced her and married my mom. I was never close to my step-brothers and sisters because they are all 10 years older than I am and they live so far away. We also didn't have close family where we were, so I typically hung out with my parents.

But yeah, it is extremely lonely for those only children who have trouble making friends(I was different and thought more maturely than most kids). Embarrassing enough, I had imaginary friends all through high school to keep me from going crazy from the lack of social interaction. We also couldn't have pets because my mother was morbidly afraid of animals. However, I did have tons of advantages; I was fortunate and grew up independently and had sound structure from growing up around my dad.

So it is normal for an only kid to be sad/lonely as we may feel isolated sometimes, but the good thing is that we are adapted to this isolation which can get us through very difficult times that some people may not be able to handle.

I am 21 guy and an only child also. I also have no cousins and have never had a serious girlfriend so I know your feeling of loneliness. I never get to go on vacations or do anything fun like that cuz I don't have anyone to go with. I haven't even seen the ocean at 21 years of age, I want to, just have no one to go with.

I was an only child for ten years. I always kept very busy and played with neighborhhod kids and with kids at school. It sounds mote like you had a parenting problem. And, guess what, siblings generally don't hang out together and there can be rivalry. Only children are more independent, generous and higher achieving. Having sibs doesn't guarantee happiness. The friends I have that are onlies are wonderful people with tons of friends. Get busy and meet others.

Well that didn't help me at all. And you posted here twice.... :/

i am the youngest of 4. i can remember fighting all the time with my brother and sisters. abusive fighting. i can remember telling my dad i hate my siblings. he told me i should be happy i have siblings, because he was an only child. to this day im not close to any of them. i consider my best friend my family. dont be to lonely, some day youll have your own family, or marry into one that is a big family with lots of chaos. enjoy yourself, thats all you really need. good luck!!!!

I'm an only child aswell....parents divorced when I was a baby omg it's going to suck taking care of them when they're old all on my own

Im an only child also, but Ive never been lonely or upset about it. Compared to all my friends who always had issues with siblings & some that still do... Im thankful. Luckily I do have 2 very close 1st cousins, were all a year apart, & were like sisters & best friends. Like the post above, I also have several very close friends whom I consider family. We even celebrate holidays together. Sooo my advice is, you cant change the fact youre an only child, if youre lonely...its what you make of it. Find some GOOD friends, & they will be there to support you. It might take time to find the right people (Im 25) but when you do, it doesnt matter they arent your blood relatives. And at the same time you can still have your space if you need it, the best of both worlds. Good luck & cheer up, life is what you make it! :)

Hey, I grew up an only child and I always used to get jealous of people with siblings. It sucks being an only child. Then when I was 15 my parents had another kid.....he's four now and it's way too large of an age gap for me to feel close to him. I love him but yeah not quite the same beause I'm so much older.

I think the best thing for me is I have close friends who are like family....so I guess that's something you could look at for. Friends who will be there when things get rough. Sometimes friends are even more dependable than family.

*That posted wrong, sorry.

Anyway, I'm an only child because my parents were old when they got married and had me through IVF. I could have been tripltets, my mom told me, and I can't help but wonder what it would have been like. I guess every situation is different. I kinda wish I had someone to give me advice and stuff, but I usually go to my mom though the advice can be a little outdated :P
When your mom does die, maybe search for other relatives like cousins aunts and uncles. Or just lean on friends or your spouce. It'll be ok. Just cross that sad bridge when you come to it :)

Hi. I know this is really late but someone might see this someday. I’m an only child. I’m a teen, that’s all I’ll say. I went into depression, tried to commit suicide and was hospitalized. I was put on antidepressants. I’ve been taking them for a year and they haven’t helped at all. Now I have to put on this fake ego so I don’t get hospitalized again. This depression wasn’t caused by loneliness. I would go to school for 7 hours a day, and then my parents would come home 3 hours after school ended. The depression was caused by me wanting a sibling. I haven’t ever told anyone what my depression was about. I suggested my parents have another kid or even adopt but they refused. Until this day, no one in my life knows I have want a sibling, or that I’m still depressed. Whenever I see siblings together or even think about having one, I tear up. This hasn’t only caused depression, but major anger. I rage so much for the stupidest reasons, and often break or smash my belongings. I don’t know why I want a sibling. It may be for the sole fact that not one person I know is an only child, or maybe because I want someone in my family to play with me, and grow up and with me. I’m not spoiled, and no one thinks I am, but I am awkwardly social and inpatient. I will have to take care of my parents on my own when they grow older, and that’s not a responsibility I want to take on. My two dogs are my best friends. My depression is so bad to the point that I make up voices for them, and have conversations with them from the day I got them, to now. I had a group of friends from kintergarden to 7th grade. I cut myself out in 8th grade. All of my friends came from the internet, and my parents wouldn’t let me play with them as much as I was. I only talk to 4 of my internet friends now, opposed to the 50 I had. I’m now friends with my old group again. Things seem to be better for me now. I still cry, rage, and sometimes have thoughts of suicide. But I manage. This is 8 years late, but if any parents of only child’s, or any parents planning on having only childs, PLEASE reconsider. They will fight, argue. But in the end, family is the most important thing.

I hate being an only child. When I was little it didn't bother me as much because I was kept occupied with games and other activities my parents signed me up for with other kids (e.g. dance, gymnastics, etc.). Now that I am not a child anymore friends do not have as much time to hang out with you so during the summer we can't hang out everyday like we used to. So a lot of time it's just me and my parents hanging out in the summer months, but I feel like teens aren't as willing to connect on a deeper level as if siblings at my high school. At my age now I wish I had a sibling just to know I have someone always there for me. Now that my parents realize how much I dislike being an only child they wish they have fostered when I was little, as they did not know how much it would really matter to me if I had a sibling or not.

It is absolutley normal to feel this way. I am also an only child and find myself getting very sad often about being alone. I would do anything to have a sibling but my parents are too old to have kids and I just want another kid in the house to keep me company. It sounds amazing to have a companion; someone who will always be there for you. My parents are amazing, but they fight all the time about things that are not worth a fight. I feel alone when I do homework, and all of my friends have siblings. If you feel sad, you are not the only one. I try to make myself feel better by saying, "at least I do not have to share" or "what if we always would fight?" but nothing can really erase the fact that I want a brother or sister very bad. Also, now I cant be an aunt! (unless I get married and they have siblings that have kids haha )

My mum has a blood disorder in which she could lose a lot of blood having another baby, but I feel lonely all the time and it hurts to see my friends with there siblings knowing I will never have that special bond with someone, I am a very quiet person and I don't say what I genuinely feel so my mum and dad Don't know how I feel about the whole situation. I am close to my two cousin who are 4 and 8 years older than me but it's not the same as having a brother or sister, of late I have been thinking about it more and more, I just hope one day I will be able to have more than one child so they don't feel the way I do.

I never liked being an only child. Both of my parents were young when they had me. I am now 24 and my parents still married but didn't get to experience having a brother or a sister. My parents are both healthy and have gone to the doctor and tried to have babies up to now but my guess is that God wanted it that way.
I remember when my parents would fight and I would hear them screaming and cursing at one another and I'll be listening to everything and I would hide in my closet. I wish I had someone to talk to in order to distract myself. I remember I would get into trouble and I just wish I had a sibling to talk to me or at least annoy me to get me out of the funk. My closet has been my escape. I sit in there with the lights off and the door shit and just stay quiet and listen to the quietness of my room. I had friends but it's Not the same living with them. I remember going on vacations but never really got to enjoy to the point where I can get away with things or have a crazy cool story to talk about with a sibling and laugh. I was always under my parents supervision. I also remembering carrying my favorite teddy beAr in my backpack and not show the kids at school I had it because they might look at me weird. I would whisper over my shoulder having a conversation with my teddy bear as I walked to my classes. I remember there was a time I got upset with my mother and told her how mad I was with her and with God because I'm so alone and wanted someone around. I remember being upset with God and asked him why I had to be so diff. I wish I had a brother to take care of me or at least have a deep conversation with him and hear his thoughts or words of encouragement. Advice about boys and not have to ask my dad and have my dad supervising me when it came to having guy friends.
I still deeply want someone I can call on my cell phone and feel like we have things in common or at least share memories together. It's scary for me to know that I will one day be alone when my parents part from this world. My parents did an amazing job raising me though. Never did drugs, never for drunk, have a clean record, don't have kids and I graduated from college. I am currently in a relationship. We just turn 3 years together. He tells me that one day we will be together forever. But he doesn't understand that I wish I had that already because even at this point, I still feel alone and I just wish I can make my family already to have noise in my house and have to work harder for a family I can call my own. My parents ask me when will I have kids..... Hurts me so much because I even ask that myself.... When will I? Is this guy that I'm with, will he ever propose? I'm currently going through this depression. Every year there is always this time I the year when I start to think about being alone forever. It haunts me.
I remember in elementary there was an old video tape that all the kids had to watch and learn about the diff subjects we had in school. One of them was called "3 is a magic number". I have always kept that song and that number 3 to heart. Just mom, dad and I.

I hope this pain goes away once I start a family. But who knows when that will be.

I totally feel the same way. Sure us only children most of the time get the undivided attention of our parents, and may receive things we want, but that can only go so far. Material things don't cut it in my opinion. When my friends say I'm lucky to have what I have, sure it may feel good at the time, but occasionally it hurts inside. When I see them and their relationship with their siblings, a feeling of anger and jealousy starts to come up within me. I know that's wrong, but it just gets me depressed knowing how much I missed out on, because I didn't have a sibling. This also affects me, because I don't have anyone to rely on at all,especially when my parents pass away, I'm going to be all alone, and left to fend for myself with little to no familial support.
So to sum it up, yes it does suck to be an only child, and those who have siblings shouldn't take it for-granted, because being an only child isn't all its cracked up to be.

Your parents are guilty.
No child should be without siblings.

Hello,I'd like to say there's masses of only child in China. As a only child with parent divorced I sometimes want to be a elder sister.(My stepfather have a daughter of his own and he and my mother don't want a child anymore).

However, my two elder maternal aunts have their own daughters. The three of us have very different characters and hold different values. But if I need help they will definitely help.I also have two relatively close second cousins(they are first cousins and not very close),our values are also different (OK,I admit I'm a geek) but I can still live in their home and play together.So try to contact your relatives even they are not close, especially from your deceased father. I guess they are willing to give your emotional support.

If contacting cousins don't work. Try to learn to being alone. Obsessed in a certain kind of subject or some other healthy hobbies, you will have a heart flow and forget you are alone.(It also works if you don't have any friends)

Aware of possibility to have mental disorders. Innate psychological conflicts comes from the early relationship with parents. I've just recovered from major depression triggered by the failure of College Entrance Examination (Me and mom have give out a lot to study and take exam in a "superior" city).

So, be confident and pursuit in higher goal.

Wish it will help.

Im an only child too, my parents mite b separated but, they dnt have much time for me. I see my dad everyday and my mom but they have theyre own thing going on. We bond sometimes but not alot maybe Twice a year. i should be thankful, becuz of this, but i dnt ever feel complete, i feel really lonely, most of my cousins all have siblings, exept for 1 because his parents r divorced but he makes it seem so easy, sometimes i feel like hes getting special treatment, because when i was little he got a phone b4 me, n my parents told me i could never get a phone, ive been doing my things to b responsible, but im just a person. and i asked for a pet but my mom said no, i cant go outside with my friends, at school theyre all talking abt bonding with each other at the mall, at the movies, n my mom would always say no. i feel really lonely too, cuz i wish i had someone to talk too, n im glad im not the only one going thru this

I'm an only child too! I hate it! I'm always crying to myself at night or in the shower! I have lots of friend & I'm in like every sport but I only have one parent & its my mom. I never knew what it was to have a dad or to have a brother or sister to look after. In fact I have a great social life but when I'm in school many think I'm a brat cause I get everything & many say lucky or she's so spoiled but truth is I'd give up anything to have a brother or sister! My best friend has 2 brothers & she really takes them for granted because unlike me i have no one there that's going to be there for me.

I am an only child as well but my dad has two kids (both old enough to be my parents) from a previous relationship. I hate being an only and I'm completely terrified to see the day they die because I will be all alone. My 'sister' hates me because my dad won't give her money or a new car every time she asks. So we aren't close and my 'brother' I haven't seen him since I was 6months old. So yes it is completely normal to feel lonely being an only child but it has it's benefits.

yea me too im a lonely guy i dont have any sisters or brothers i have few friends and i live with my mom and grandfather dad is live in another country he did came home 10 years i think i wish i had a little sister so i can be proud i can look at her like my daughter and when i get married she will become my wife best friend idk :( yea im so lonely

It really does suck being an only child. my parents are seperated and always trying to win me over with money. I wish i had a brother or sister sometimes but then again it might be anoiyng. And it's also hard for me to make friends since everything is always akward when people talk to me. And i probably am paranoid because i cant trust anyone. When people say things like "oh yeah i can read your mind" it really does not help. You should live with a roomate and become friends for life! Also buy a dog or cats it will also help the lonely and play online video games and watch anime and read manga! It will all help.