But I do have bouts of longing for connection with other humans sometimes. It can be difficult to reconcile. Even if I make plans to go out and make friends or meet an existing one during one of these slumps, by the time the planned day rolls around I usually have to force myself to actually do it. Once I force myself out there I have fun, but it takes so much effort to actually do it and not stay in my own little world reading or coding or whatever.

I think I've come to terms with the fact that even though I really love being alone, I do need to put in an effort to make more meaningful connections over the long term.

As an off-the-scale introvert and socially anxious person, I’ll just say that loneliness and introversion aren’t incompatible because the degree to which you are depleted or energized by the presence of others is not a binary variable. Rare is the person who needs no human interaction.

But as others have alluded to, loneliness may be a catch-all for many emotional states and mental health conditions. A sense of self-alienation can be read-out as loneliness and even the most committed introvert can experience that.

And it definitely got way worse during/after pandemic. I would suggest you check out some Reddit forums if you are curious to know the other half of the population. r/ForeverAlone, r/lonely, r/loneliness, r/alone, r/LonersEmpire