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Loneliness, the Silent Killer

Feeling lonely? You're not alone.

By GemmaPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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When we are told to maintain a healthy lifestyle, we often think of healthy eating and regular exercise—in return, we're promised a long and healthy life. To an extent, there is some truth in this. But what doctors don't tell you, is how social isolation can take years away from your life, as well as leaving you more susceptible to catching various illnesses.

Research has been conducted and found that being socially isolated left peoples immune systems lower leaving them more likely to pick up a common cold virus. (If you're interested in this, research was conducted by Cohen et al in 1997, where a range of adults were exposed to the cold virus.) It has also been found that negative health consequences for social isolation and loneliness are just as strong as smoking. It's commonly known that smoking takes years off of peoples lives and causes many health consequences. Therefore, public health services have recognized this and in return, implemented services in order to help people who smoke to stop. However, is this the case for loneliness? With loneliness being found to cause significant health issues, you would think there would be more help and intervention available—especially if it has long term benefits. However, this is rarely the case. Luckily in recent years, loneliness has been recognized as an issue, however there are still few interventions available. The few resources of help available are limited to certain social groups—mainly the elderly. However, in recent years it has been found young people experience a lot of loneliness—but there is minimal help for this available.

Individuals mental health and wellbeing is greatly affected by loneliness, increasing the risk of developing anxiety and depression. With limited mental health support available, surely prevention is better than cure?

If the negative health consequences of loneliness and social isolation wasn't enough, there is evidence to suggest it has an impact on cognitive abilities. In studies, it has been found that in tests those who are lonely answer less questions correctly as well as attempt to answer less questions. Now, this may not seem significant to some, but imagine those children in school experiencing crippling loneliness, with their education suffering because of it.

Studies have been conducted to find out what happens within the brain when people experience loneliness or exclusion. It has been found, the two areas of the brain that are activated, are the parts of the brain that is activated when people experience physical pain. It has later been found that the centers of the brain that understand physical and social pain have co-evolved. They are also regions of the brain that are used in the detection of threat. This is significant. This shows the significant impact loneliness has on us and how this serious issue should be talked about more openly, with more support available.

I want to shed some light, some hope. Loneliness is unsurprisingly common among all generations. If you are lonely and see no way out of this, I promise you are not alone. There are many people around the world feeling the exact same way. I also want to say, its okay if you feel like this. It's okay if loneliness is bringing you down. There IS a way out of it. But together, we have to raise awareness about not only how common loneliness is, but the detrimental effects it has on both a person's physical and mental health. As a community, we are able to help loneliness, not only by raising awareness, but standing by those who experience it. If this is something you suffer from, please try to find the courage within you to speak out and seek support.

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About the Creator

Gemma

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