Loneliness and its effects on your health
What is the media saying about loneliness and how it is is effecting our physical and mental health?
Lonely people have higher rates of:
Heart Disease; Cancer; Dementia; High blood pressure; Diabetes; Infection; Anxiety; Depression; Insomnia; Suicide; Addiction
Lissa Rankin, MD found that loneliness predisposes the body to an increased risk of mortality by up to 45%.
In this short video, Lissa Rankin, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine, The Fear Cure, and The Anatomy of a Calling, is a physician, speaker, founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute, and mystic, reveals what she has found in her research on loneliness. She answers the questions ‘What are the greatest risk factors for disease? and What is the most important medicine we need for survival?’ Her answers may surprise you!
What does the CDC say about loneliness?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports the media claim that loneliness and social isolation puts a significant number of people in the united states at risk for dementia and other serious medical conditions, especially among older adults. More than one third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and one fourth of adults 65 and older are socially isolated. Loneliness is defined as the feeling of being alone, regardless of the amount of social contact. Social isolation leads to loneliness, and for some, they can feel lonely without being socially isolated. In addition to the older population, those who are most vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation are immigrants, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LQBT) populations, minorities, and victims of elder abuse. Factors include language barriers, differences in community, family dynamics, stigma, discrimination, and barriers to care.
Health risks of loneliness as reported by the CDC are premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical activity. A fifty percent increased risk of dementia. A twenty-nine percent increased risk of heart disease and thirty-two increased risk for stroke. Higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Loneliness among heart failure patients is associated with almost four times increased risk of death, sixty-eight times increased risk for hospitalization, and fifty-seven percent increased risk of emergency department visits.
Interventions that can help to resolve loneliness and social isolation include high-quality social relationships and access to healthcare.
What does the Department of Health and Human Services say about loneliness?
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) supports the media claim that loneliness and social isolation can lead to medical issues such as cognitive decline, depression, and heart disease. We as human beings are social and our connections to others enables us to survive and thrive. The NIAs conducted research has found that loneliness is a risk for poor aging outcomes. The NIA supports that loneliness and social isolation are not one in the same; Of the 28 percent or 13.8 million people who live alone are not lonely. On the other hand, many people who are surrounded by family and friends report feeling lonely. In addition to heart disease, the NIA reports that loneliness puts people at an increased risk for high blood pressure, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s, and death. People who engage in meaningful activities have been reported to live longer, are happier, and have a sense of purpose. When looking at biology of loneliness, when people are lonely, they tend to feel threatened and mistrust others, which activates a biological defense mechanism. This defense mechanism alters our cells in the immune system to promote inflammation, which is necessary for our bodies to heal from injury. People who feel lonely may also have weakened immune cells which can prevent the body from fighting off viruses.
What does the American Psychological Association say about loneliness?
An article published by the American Psychological Association (APA) supports the media claim that loneliness effects our physical, mental, and cognitive health. Nearly half of 20,000 United States adults report that they sometimes or always feel alone. In a survey conducted by the APA, participants reported that they sometimes or always feel their relationships are not meaningful which causes them to feel isolated. The article states that lack of meaningful social connections heightens health risks to as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having Alcohol use Disorder. In addition, loneliness and social isolation are twice as harmful to physical and mental health as obesity and significantly increases the risk of premature mortality. The effects of loneliness and social isolation exceed the risk of many other leading health indicators and can lead to depression, poor sleep quality, impaired executive function, accelerated cognitive decline, poor cardiovascular function, stroke, dementia, and impaired immunity at every stage in life. A study published in this article found that the leukocytes of lonely participants showed an increased expression of genes involved in inflammation and decreased expression of genes involved in antiviral responses. In addition, data analyzed from more than 580,000 adults found that social isolation and loneliness increases the risk of premature death from every cause for every race. The article suggests that more social interaction and less family strain can help to reduce feelings of loneliness in older adults. Other efforts to minimize loneliness can start at home by teaching children that being alone does not mean loneliness.
Can Loneliness be cured?
WE DON’T KNOW!!! However..
Befriend yourself
We must heal shame and perfectionism for ourselves and others
Own our stuff
Be vulnerable
Take risks
“Bench press” our receiving muscles
Hold space for others (be present, withhold judgement, listen generously)
It’s not about the quantity, but the quality!
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, April 29). Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/lonely-older-adults.html.
Novotney, A. (2019, May). The risks of social isolation. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/05/ce-corner-isolation.
TEDxTalks. (2016, September 28). The #1 Public Health Issue Doctors Aren’t Talking About | Lissa Rankin | TEDxFargo. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2hLhWSlOl0.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019, April 23). Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks. National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/social-isolation-loneliness-older-people-pose-health-risks#:~:text=Health%20effects%20of%20social%20isolation,Alzheimer’s%20disease%2C%20and%20even%20death.