Alienation
A sense of estrangement from a group, place, or one's own experience, broader and more existential than momentary Loneliness.
How it shows up
Alienation can show up when a workplace's values feel foreign, when returning to a hometown that has changed, or when one's own reactions feel distant and unfamiliar. People may feel like an outsider looking in, even among others. It can be a painful signal of a mismatch between person and setting. It can reach beyond people to a whole setting, or even to oneself, which makes it wider than a lonely moment.
How it differs from Loneliness
Loneliness is missing wanted connection; alienation is feeling like a stranger to a group, a place, or even yourself.
Notice
Notice settings where you feel like an observer rather than a participant, and what makes them feel that way.
Where it is felt
Felt most in the chest, stomach and whole body.
Based on Nummenmaa et al. (2014), bodily maps of emotions, and related research. The map shows where people report bodily sensation, on average; individual experience varies.