During COVID many people found themselves isolated, once we could start getting out and freely seeing each other again you’d think those feelings of isolation would start to lift. This is proving to be incorrect though as we are finding ourselves in a loneliness epidemic. It has gotten so bad that the U.S. surgeon general posted an advisory for the loneliness epidemic. The question on your mind might be “ How is it an epidemic if no one is sick?” Well, the truth is this lonely feeling is killing. Studies done since 2021 have started to show that loneliness and isolation are causing people to have some negative health side effects. So let’s break down our surgeon general’s advisory to see if we can better understand our isolated mind and body.
Feelings of isolation or loneliness can not only make you feel bad emotionally but can harm you medically. Loneliness can increase the risk of early demise by 26% and social isolation can increase the risk of early death by 29%. A lack of connection and community can have health defecates or increase the risk of death in amounts that equal smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Not only can this emotional void cause some health concerns in symptoms it can also raise medical bills. In the surgeon general’s advisory, it was noted that “ Social isolation among older adults alone accounts for an estimated $6.7 billion in excess Medicare spending annually, largely due to increased hospital and nursing facility spending.” While we might not all be adults yet, keeping isolation behaviors up and carrying them into adulthood hurts our pockets and our lifespans.
Off the topic of medical problems loneliness can cause, it can hurt our mental and cognitive health. When you are feeling sad and alone you generally aren’t thinking of the math test you have coming up, and it shows! Feeling lonely or isolated correlates with low academic achievement. Not on an academic level feeling lonely can cause some serious emotional distress, this can cause people to be more irritable or even isolate themselves further.
As a whole this epidemic of loneliness can and has caused a lot of issues in our lives. The thing is, despite having such a big impact some people don’t even recognize it. In the General letter, he says “ loneliness and isolation are more widespread than many of the other major health issues of our day, including smoking (12.5% of U.S. adults),54 diabetes (14.7%),55 and obesity (41.9%),56 and with comparable levels of risk to health and premature death. Despite such high prevalence, less than 20% of individuals who often or always feel lonely or isolated recognize it as a major problem.” This passing over of such a major issue isn’t going to do anything to help bring us out of these emotions and it has been showing in studies and surveys that are concluding that “Americans appear to be becoming less socially connected over time.12,64 This is not a new problem—certain declines have been occurring for decades.”
In conclusion, the problems of loneliness and isolation aren’t getting any better and are starting to show some concerning health results. Concerns have gotten so high that New York took the step to get a “loneliness ambassador” whose job it is to try and help New Yorkers get out of social isolation and form connections with others. While not all states have an ambassador of loneliness you can find many ways to combat those lonely feelings. One is to do something that makes you happy, you can restart or find a new hobby. Another way is to try to stay in touch with family and friends. Keeping a connection with people who matter to you and make you happy is an important part of feeling less lonely. While it might not be the right thing for everyone, staying active or getting a pet are two more ways to fight social isolation and loneliness. Lastly, forming new connections with people can help people feel less lonely, as having someone new and exciting can give you a little spark. So it might be a good idea to go talk to that person you think seems nice, tell the people in your life you care about them, be bold, and tell that person you like them, chances are they all feel a little bit lonely but together we can feel less alone.
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf