Research on Loneliness & Isolation
Researchers from
Brigham Young University in Utah reviewed nearly 35 years of data from about 3
million participants & discovered that loneliness & isolation can
impact our health, & even shorten our lives, just like obesity. Feeling
isolated from others is twice as deadly as being obese, & is nearly as
detrimental to your health as being poor, according to a presentation by
University of Chicago psychologist, John Cacioppo, at the 2014 meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. After analyzing the survey
responses of over 2,100 adults age 55 & over, Cacioppo & his team concluded
that lacking close personal connections raises an individual's premature death
risk by 14 percent, while lacking financial means increases these odds by 19
percent.
Linking
Loneliness with Health
New research suggests there's a direct biological link
between loneliness & ill health. Loneliness can send a person down a path
toward bad health, & even more intense loneliness. It is often the core
feeling that gives rise to emotions of anger, sadness, depression,
worthlessness, resentment, emptiness, vulnerability & pessimism. Lonely
people frequently feel that they are disliked, are often self-obsessed &
lack empathy with others. They fear rejection & keep themselves at a
distance, which in turn only feeds more loneliness.
Emotional
& Physical Toll
In addition to exacting an extreme emotional toll,
loneliness can carry dangerous—even deadly—physical consequences. Loneliness
has dramatic consequences on health. Feeling isolated from others can disrupt
sleep, cause hardening of the arteries (which leads to high blood pressure),
inflammation in the body, & even problems with learning & memory, lower
immunity, increase depression, lower overall subjective well being by changing
gene expression in immune cells & increase stress hormone cortisol (at
sustained high levels cortisol gradually wears your body down). According to
Cacioppo, just like a headache or a stomachache may be physical manifestations
of a larger malady, feelings of loneliness are meant to alert you that
something is wrong.
Being Alone is Fine but Friendship
is Valuable
Your friends really are saving your life. Friendships can
help older people develop their resilience & ability to bounce back after
adversity, as well as an ability to gain strength from stress rather than be
diminished by it. Also, psychotherapy can help people to heal wounds from their
past & establish new patterns of relating to others. Cacioppo &
colleagues found that two of the best ways to treat loneliness are to train
people for social skills they need to view the world in a more positive light,
& to bring people together to share good times.
Quite often, talking to your friend is the only therapy YOU need.
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