Cigna in 2018 conducted a survey that shocked shocking results of loneliness among adults of all times. About half of 20,000 U.S adults have experienced loneliness at some point in life. Participants of the survey have also reported in experiencing meaninglessness of the social relationships and face isolation.
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, Brigham Young University’s professor of psychology and neuroscience says “There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality, and the magnitude of the risk exceeds that of many leading health indicators”.
What are the effects of loneliness and isolation?
Hawkley states in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society that the social isolation that spans across life have severe detrimental effect on both physical, mental, and cognitive health of individuals. The most common effects of social isolation are depression, lack of sleep or poor sleeping quality, acceleration in the degradation of cognitive, impaired immunity, etc.
Taking into consideration the present situation of social distance being the only way to help decrease the spread of the virus, people have been distancing themselves from those around them for several months. Such isolation, although is essential, is wreaking havoc in the mental health of people.
World Health Organisation confirms that having a strong social support network have proved to have significant effect on the mental and physical health.
In fact, some researchers also believe that having established social relationship with other human beings are crucial for the mental and physical well-being.
Similarly, there are a few mental health risks that have been associated by the studies with that of social isolation and loneliness, namely- depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, suicide, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Studies have also found links between heart diseases, and breast cancer with that of social isolation and loneliness.
Who are at risk?
With the world combatting COVID-19, various health organizations have urged people to stay at home and practice social distancing. It is true that physical distancing is the most effective way to help prevent the virus from spreading, the most difficult outcome of social isolation is loneliness.
The group that is most vulnerable to the social isolation are elderly people. Isolation have been known to affect at least 8 million older adults, even before the outbreak of the pandemic took place.
The reason why older adults are more at risk and prone to suffer from loneliness and isolation are due to the various life changes that occur at those times like retirement, loss of spouse, children moving out, and the onset of various health related issues.
Such changes are capable of cutting down social ties, and making any social interaction almost impossible. Those people previously diagnosed with any kind of disability or health condition that put limitations on the amount of physical activity that one can indulge in, also contribute to the intensification of inability to socialize.
Risk factors for the development of COVID-19 symptoms include age and any underlying health conditions, making the elderly prone to being infected. Thus, physical distancing is the only way to protect the vulnerable crowd, but it also exacerbates loneliness in those people who have already been facing isolation.
The United States is leading the world in the percentage of lonely people while closely followed by Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The amount of population that is getting affected by loneliness is growing day by day and taking the form of an epidemic.
There are also some societal norms to blame that increase disconnection within the society and lead people to isolate. Families now typically consist of three or four members, and the number of couples deciding to go childless are increasing at an accelerated pace.
Lifestyle changes are also important factors that add to the social disconnection among people such as a divorce, living alone, and being single.
What are the signs and symptoms that I should look out for?
It is important to have knowledge of the vital signs of isolation that is capable pf affecting the mental health of individuals. Some of the key signs include:
Although researchers states that the kind of consequences that people are to experience are very much dependent on age, these are a few common signs of loneliness and need to be addressed immediately. Children and adolescents on the other hand might also face difficulties in cognitive, behavioral and emotional aspect of their lives.
Ways to stay connected
Reach out to those you live and try to connect with them via the various platforms such as emails, mails, phone call and texts, social media, video calls. You would be surprised to know how much the little effort are capable of making a difference in the lives of those who are lonely.