Tantra workshops as an intervention for loneliness in the Swedish context

Sammanfattning

In the modern landscape of mental health, loneliness has emerged as a critical societal challenge, a phenomenon that is particularly pronounced in Sweden. While the Swedish government has recognized this as a systemic issue, traditional public health interventions often prioritize social opportunity over the internal cognitive and somatic mechanisms that sustain isolation. Recognizing the value of lifelong learning to elevate the quality of life, the present qualitative study explores the potential of Tantra workshops as a specialized form of non-formal education to mitigate loneliness and enhance relational capacity. To this end, this research investigates the perceptions and experiences of a diverse group of practitioners, examining the transition from initial personal struggles to the development of relational and somatic agency. Therefore, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with practitioners in Sweden, utilizing age and gender as primary units of comparison. The study identified three central themes of transformation: cognitive reprogramming, relational literacy, and somatic learning. These were found to be interrelated, with participants reporting a shift from a surface-level existence to an empowered state of agency of their lives. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how the workshops pedagogical scaffolding allows for the disruption of maladaptive social cognition by rehabilitating the body as a primary resource for well-being. Such findings highlight the role of these bottom-up communal interventions as a possible supplement to state-led strategies.