Recently I went to a ministry conference on the loneliness epidemic. One of my first questions was how can there be a loneliness epidemic? Transportation is available, technology is at our fingertips and luxury surrounds many of us.
Dr. Carla Perissinotto from the University of California – San Francisco School of Medicine shared details about the myths that surround loneliness:
Myth 1: If you have many friends, you should not be lonely.
Myth 2: If you are married, you will never be lonely.
Myth 3: Loneliness will get better if I join a group.
The people who responded to her research included around 62 percent married couples and 26 percent who were living alone.
Women are lonelier than men
One of her findings was that women were more likely to be lonely than men.
Her research proves that testing patients for loneliness is valuable to their health. Loneliness is common and impacts other issues:
- The rate of death
- Loss of independence with activities of daily living
- The stress response
- Insomnia
- Loss of motor function
- The onset of dementia and frailty
Dr. Perissinotto continued to say loneliness is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness is the new smoking!
Ask yourself these three questions
Loneliness can be assessed with three questions, with answers ranking “hardly ever,” “some of the time” or “often:”
- Do you feel left out?
- Do you feel isolated?
- Do you lack companionship?
The lesson for me was that people need each other. We were not created to be alone. We yearn for a purpose larger than ourselves.
Research has shown something as simple as volunteering a couple hours every week can add meaning to life. We all need to feel valued and have a sense of purpose, which leads to a sense of belonging.
Read more about UCSF research.
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Posted In Sanford Stories
